Love, The Cassette Tape
by Rugiku
Summary: There's a cassette player on the table for Yukimura. After a moment of deliberation, he hits play and the old machine starts whirring. He doesn't know where it's from or whose voice it is, but he should. He always should. Datesana, IeMitsu and others. Modern Era setting. Alternate Universe
1. Neither Here Nor There

_There are few things_

_More painful_

_Than leaving the one you love,_

_Your jewel,_

_Your other half,_

_Your soulmate,_

_Behind._

_._

_._

_._

_You only did it_

_To protect them,_

_To protect your love,_

_To protect your memories,_

_Nothing could come between_

_Your love_

_For one another._

_._

_._

_._

_No._

_._

_._

_._

_You only did this_

_Because you_

_Were so,_

_Very,_

_Utterly,_

_Stupid._

* * *

Yukimura stared at the plastic rectangle in his hands. It was wound all the way to the end, thin black tape staring up at him as if he should remember the voice on it but he _can't_. He knew he should – the cold yet sweet tone, rough around the edges like the man on the other end had been _crying_.

Somehow he knew this enigma should never cry, much less for him.

The player sat in front of him, battered and scratched in places, yet he could tell the previous owner loved it a lot. Soft, waltzing melodies floated through his head unbidden and Yukimura shakes it, hair flying, eyes shut.

He couldn't take it any more.

His lost past.

The other 'Yukimura'.

"This world is nothing but void – everything good is weighed evenly with all the bad." He whispered to himself as tears slid down his face and splattered on the black marks that spelt out,

Love, the Cassette Tape

* * *

Apparently, Masamune's white-haired eye-patch buddy was taking him out on a wet autumn evening to Sakigahara City's 'best unfounded pub of hidden treasure'.

Masamune assumed that this 'unfounded pub' was Motochika's workplace, simply because the pubs in Sakigahara were very different to the bars that Motochika was famed to go crawling through back in their high school years. He then felt very sorry for the poor sod who decided to employ his overly boisterous friend.

Just as he was starting to feel the chill, Motochika yanked on the back of his thin coat and swung him none-too gently in through the doors of a tiny backwater pub that Masamune would have walked straight past without a second thought. Being the lovely best friend he was, Masamune only avoided a broken nose because Motochika swung the door open just in time and deposited his friend in the middle of the establishment, firmly on his arse.

The glare Masamune shot his friend would have made a lesser man wet himself.

"Chosokabe, what are you doing? You're late again." Snapped a brunet from behind the counter.

"Ah, Mori! I'm here at least. I hear that Oichi isn't coming in today." Chosokabe's boss snorted once.

"That's because she had a doctor's appointment."

"Ah, so you already know."

"…Clearly."

Masamune couldn't help but chuckle at their exchange. It almost felt natural the way Motochika's boss would throw thinly-veiled insults at his employee while the other would just laugh it off.

"Oh, this here is my old high school buddy: Masamune Date." Motochika hauled Masamune up, and then looped an arm over his shoulder with a grin.

"Hey." Masamune intoned before throwing the heavily corded arm off his shoulders, wrenching a finger back for his smarting backside. Motochika bit back a howl and clutched his pinkie, teary-eyed.

Mori stood impassively, analysing the exchange and let out a long-suffering sigh. "If you need anything, don't bother me."

At that, Mori turned on his heel and walked behind a partition, never to be seen again.

At least, by Masamune.

"Haa, he's so sweet, isn't he?" Motochika sighed. Masamune shot him a stare that said _You've changed sooo much since I last saw you._

A CD disc shot out of nowhere and boomeranged into Motochika's face, bouncing off with a satisfying yet hollow _thunk_.

"I can hear you, Chosokabe."

Masamune snickered as his friend gazed dreamily at the ceiling.

Once Masamune managed to get Motochika started on his actual job (how he'd managed to become a bartender was a mystery – he was veritable genius, goddamn it), the atmosphere relaxed into a soothing quiet. People drifted in from the cold – some shadier than others – and Motochika greeted them with a smile, asking them their poisons and such. Masamune melted into the background, huddled quietly in his own corner nursing his own drink, turning off the devilish charisma that usually enveloped him whenever he was within six feet of another human being.

There was a reason why one of the nicknames he was less fond of during high school was 'Marilyn Munroe'.

As the night wore on, Masamune drifted off at some unidentifiable time early in the morning (he would never admit that Mori's choice of sweet music lulled him to unconsciousness) and was only startled awake when Motochika gently shook him awake. The pub was empty, the wood panelling and elegant bottles reflecting the soft light near the door. Outside the small windows that faced the street, the sky was a smoky grey signalling light in the east.

"'M awake," Masamune slurred, empty glass rolling onto the floor. Motochika scowled at the offending glassware and tossed it into the sink as Masamune sat upright, yawning like a grumpy lion.

"C'mon. It's nearly day-shift so we gotta get outta here." Masamune rubbed his face in an attempt to rid himself of the fuzzy hold of sleep. Glancing at his watch, it informed him that it was exactly four twenty-seven in the morning.

"My place?" Masamune muzzily nodded and let his eye patched friend lead him out onto the street.

"Whaddaya mean 'day-shift'?" The cold air cleared the smaller of the two's head a little. However, it only alerted him to the chill that was seeping through his thin jacket, prompting him to hug himself; not caring how idiotic it appeared.

"That place – Aki Club – is used as a bar in the night and then in the day, it turns into a café," Motochika turned a corner and continued down a quieter, emptier street. "The land rent here is just way too high so Mori and Shingen split the costs between them in exchange for dealing with the other."

"Ah," was all that Masamune could manage with some form of intelligence.

"How 'bout I take you to the Kai café later? You can meet the others that work there. I'd have to say that I'm pretty good friends with them…" and Motochika continued to prattle on as Masamune trudged behind him, dead on his feet.

"Let's go boys!"

A rough voice jolted Masamune out of his waking doze and no sooner than he had opened his eye, a man had grabbed him and a razor was pushed against his throat. A burning feeling of inexplicable excitement burst within Masamune's chest and years of experience kicked in. Masamune crunched his right heel into his would-be attacker's foot, feeling more than a few bones break, and twisted clear of the silver blade and the weak hold he was put in.

Rolling with his momentum, he blindly raised his right elbow and felt it connect solidly with someone's nose. Warmth oozed into the elbow of his jacket. The second man stumbled back into another and Masamune backed off to fully assess their situation.

Motochika was easily holding his own, using his larger frame and good old brawling experience to take down goon after goon.

A ridiculously large man closed in on Masamune and he quickly sidestepped the groping hands as he briskly felled him by a well-aimed kick between the legs. The delinquent flopped on the floor, twitching.

Masamune whirled around to face the last man who was shaking terribly. Leaning too forward, the attacker pulled out a small pistol from the small of his back. Closing in, Masamune dodged at the last second, the gun's explosion near deafening him while the bullet managed to rip some of his hair as it sailed past. Masamune threw all of his weight behind his right hook and slugged the man in the face. Several loud cracks indicated teeth breaking.

Masamune yowled, quickly biting the noise off while clutching his hand. Motochika strode over and gently checked Masamune's hand, the smaller wincing with every jostle.

"Your ring finger's dislocated and your knuckles have some bad bruising." Said hand was quickly purpling and Masamune looked a little terrified.

"Will it be oka- yow!" Motochika had quickly grabbed Masamune's misplaced finger and easily slid it back into place. The smaller man wrenched his hand away from the other's, gasping.

"That wasn't payback, was it?" Masamune hissed. Motochika flashed him a knowing smile.

"It should heal fine now." Finding some snapped chopsticks tucked in his coat pocket and a handkerchief; the larger man quickly improvised a splint to limit the oncoming bruising for his friend.

Using his uninjured hand, Masamune jabbed his friend in the stomach; the other keeled over and wheezed dramatically.

"Feel better now?" Motochika looked up at Masamune whose head was tilted back, holding back the torrent of swear words that threatened to make themselves known. Masamune drew in several deep breaths in an effort to calm himself and nodded.

"Cool." The two surveyed the damage. Nine men were sprawled over the concrete, eerily silent in the early dawn.

"Let's get outta here while these gooks are still licking pavement."

* * *

Motochika's flat was remarkably close to the bar and was also rather unexpectedly what Masamune imagined his place would be. The building was ridiculously tall for cheap accommodation, but a little shabby on the outside.

…Were those cannons on the roof or were they just funny looking satellite dishes?

The outer corridor leading up to Motochika's place was also slightly stained and rather bland. However, walking into the apartment itself was a shock to the senses.

The main room was majority living room – painted an amusing shade of lilac – filled with a large, leather couch and decently sized television. The living room merged with the kitchen neatly and from the doorway, Masamune could see a sizeable collection of pots, pans and dishes stacked in the sink and on the surrounding benches. A door by a painting of a huge floating fortress presumably led to Motochika's room.

On the coffee table in the living room was a large kit full of various bottles and swabs. Leaning on the arm of the chair was a ridiculous looking anchor with a long chain attached to it. Clearly, Motochika had been cleaning his old souvenir from some long-forgotten school trip to a tiny traditional fishing town.

Masamune could still recall the alarmed look on their teacher's face when she saw the delicate, pre-pubescent Motochika (or back then, known as Princess) hauling the huge lump of rusting metal onto the school bus.

"Still holding onto that thing?" Masamune gestured at the huge weapon shining proudly in the dawn light as he pulled off his bloody jacket.

"Yep," he said brightly before tossing the soiled rags and cotton buds into a waste basket and everything else into a small box. "This here's still my baby! Gotta take care of her."

Shaking his head, Masamune slumped on the vacated couch and inhaled the sharp scents of cleaning agent and varnish. He dimly heard Motochika crack open a window, letting the sounds of early morning traffic swirl into the room. Motochika went into his room then the bathroom connected and not long after, Masamune heard the sound of rushing water.

Masamune stayed like that for a while, just gazing listlessly at the blank screen of the television.

His mind wandered to the group of thugs just two alleys away and wondered if they had been found yet. The adrenaline had run out of his system and the burning in his heart had died to a tiny flicker. How was he going to live like this for the next few years?

Masamune's father owned a large company called Date Pharmaceuticals. There was some ownership debate since the current boss was in poor health. The younger brother, only twenty, was in the middle of his college degree – a genius with ambition that rivalled his intellect compared to the older brother: Masamune. Masamune had never really applied himself to work and even his own mother had given up on him, preferring her younger, more mature son.

Masamune's childhood world had consisted of the school hierarchy. The strong fight the strong while the weak just fell under their rule.

And Masamune was strong.

It was in the second term of their first year in high school. One of Motochika's gang had attacked one of Masamune's, creating tension between the two parties. Eventually, the conflict escalated until Masamune had challenged Motochika to a one-on-one fight.

They both had the crap beaten out of each other, but through mutual respect, bruises and eye patches, they had become friends.

Even when twenty-one-year-old Masamune decided to escape three days ago and flew the coop, he fluttered his way over to Motochika Chosokabe – the only (relatively) reliable person he knew.

Eventually, the shower went silent and a few minutes later, Motochika stepped out with a towel around his waist.

"How're you feeling, do you feel like breakfast?" The large man walked over to the fridge and pulled out a few eggs and some bread. When Masamune didn't reply, Motochika lowered the egg he was about to crack and walked over to sit next to Masamune who was still glowering at the TV.

"Masamune, are you alright?"

"…"

Motochika waited a little longer before placing his right arm over Masamune's shoulder, letting the smaller man's head rest against his shoulder. Masamune could still smell the light fragrance of soap on his friend's bare skin and his hair was still a little damp.

"Here's no better than there. I'd have thought you'd be used to this kind of thing…" Masamune was still silent but Motochika could feel the light tremor of exertion. "I bet you're exhausted."

Masamune's head dipped once in acknowledgement. Dragging a pink blanket off the back of the seat, he draped it over Masamune's still body.

"Coffee or tea?"

Masamune mumbled something inaudible and Motochika nodded.

"Milk it is."

* * *

**This was Chapter 1 of Love, the Cassette Tape. **

**Full Title: ****Neither Here Nor There**

**Okay, so this started out as a birthday fic for my friend Uyre. Her birthday present is long overdue (sorry;;;) but by the time it was substantial enough to be published on this website, it ended up being today: Yukimura Sanada's birthday.**

**Yep, today is a celebration for both Yukimura and Uyre's birthdays (****even if the latter is several months late****). Anyway, enjoy this product of madness. Update schedule is around every 3****rd**** and 18****th**** of the month. **

**Disclaimers: I don't own anything, neither do I make profit. Only the plotline is more or less mine.**

**Warnings: First, angst right near the end. This is a story where not all of the characters have a happy ending, though it's pretty obvious in this chapter. Second, beware of stupidity and somewhat OOC people. Lastly, this is yaoi. Don't like, don't read. You have been warned once and that is enough. Though, this is Basara: if you didn't accept yaoi, why are you even into this series anyway?**

**Pairings: Predominantly ****DateSana**** and ****MitsuYasu****. Smidgen of ****AzaIchi**** and a sneeze of ****MotoMoto****. ****Squint and you will see every pairing****, actually. **

**Reviews are like gooks to pavement.**

**[edit]: I decided to rewrite the first chapter since the first was always a test-run and I had never been particularly happy with it. Think of this as the exclusive fanfiction version of this story. Nothing in the story existing (I've already finished writing it) will be changed, or plotline-wise either.**

**Still, enjoy reading and please, send me a review to show your love.**


	2. EdUCation

Love, the Cassette Tape

**Full Title: Ed-U-Cation**

**Next chapter is up! Thanks for all the story favourites and the follows, not a SINGLE review.**

***sigh* I swear, reviews are more or less what I write for.**

* * *

The two left again when the sun was higher and the world, warmer. Masamune was wearing one of Motochika's old indigo hoodies because that was the only thing sort-of blue coloured in his closet and reasonably acceptable, since his own jacket was currently spinning in the washing machine. Motochika was wearing a similar typically purple hoodie over his shoulders so he could hear the sleeves flapping in every gust of wind.

Honestly, Masamune didn't know how his pirate-esque friend was able to withstand the chillier air.

The ice Motochika had in his fridge had helped and now Masamune's hand was just slightly bruised, no more than the usual scarring on the knuckles.

They arrived at the former night bar that had suddenly turned into a bustling day café.

People from businesses wandered in as did joggers and the odd tourist, enticed by the warmth exuded from the restaurant. It was cleverly fitted out with huge glass panes that opened like windows where the customers seated outside could call for refills or new orders. There were sliding panels that gave the impression of solid wood walls that could be slid over the glass. These were stored within a compartment within the back wall.

The large bench that served as the bar the night before had been transformed into a counter with several people already sitting and eating breakfast.

"Hey! Princess Chika is back!" Roared a large man from behind the counter. Bald, moustachioed and sporting an apron, the huge man stepped out from behind the bar and clapped the white-haired man on the shoulder, shaking his hand.

"Princess is back?" Masamune jumped and turned to see a man wearing a black apron over a white t-shirt and black slacks standing next to him. This waiter had coppery hair kept out of his face by a black bandanna and bored, deep-green eyes the same colour as the camo-paint-like tattoos that decorated his nose and cheeks.

Masamune fought the urge to punch him.

"Sarutobi, just put the dirty dishes in the sink back here." The waiter spared Masamune a single, unreadable glance before walking off without a word to do as his boss bid.

"Motochika Chosokabe has come by?" Another waiter with fluffy, tied-up brunet hair that cascaded down his back trotted over.

"Heya, Yukimura, didn't I tell you it was just Motochika. How's life treating ya, by the way?" Motochika patted the puppy-like waiter on the head and Masamune snorted, his eye travelling to the wood-decorated ceiling. He became rather unamused as the brown-haired boy started to prattle about what Motochika had missed in the past couple of days.

The burly, moustachioed man returned to his place behind the corner and after a few minutes he gave both Motochika and Masamune a cup of coffee each, introducing himself as Shingen Takeda.

Masamune opted to sit outside near the entrance of the café, away from the majority of the outdoor customers and closer to the weak sunshine that glowed through the cool morning while Motochika talked animatedly with Yukimura. From here, he could see the quick-footed, tattooed man – Sarutobi – calmly walk around his designated area, taking orders.

Yukimura eventually joined Sarutobi (or Sasuke as Yukimura called him), and their number increased due to a huffy blonde and a meeker, dark-haired girl that stayed behind the counter. The morning wore on and Masamune pulled out his phone, coffee cup already empty, and began systematically deleting all thirty-seven of the missed calls and messages he had received since he had left his family's private estate in Shuu-o Town. Motochika eventually joined him and they chatted for a while.

"Why does Shingen call that waiter 'Sarutobi' while Yukimura calls him 'Sasuke'?" Masamune's eye followed the movement of the puppy-like waiter as he flitted around then stopped to talk to the other waiter in question.

"Sarutobi is Sasuke's original name; the one his parents gave him. I don't know any of the details but, he changed his name to Sasuke even though on all his records it says 'Sarutobi' until about sixteen years ago when he got adopted by Shingen."

"So, if I ever needed to…?"

"Just Sasuke is fine."

Said waiter was behind Masamune, making him jump again, then twist around to see him. Masamune had a feeling that the waiter was deliberately standing in his blind spot just to make seeing the man hard for him.

How did he appear out of thin air anyway?

Sensing the awkwardness between the two men, Motochika stood and muttered about a refill.

Sasuke made no move to take the cups from the purple-obsessed man and eventually took Motochika's vacated seat.

"Is there anything else you need to ask me? Your voice carries, by the way." The tattooed waiter fixed his bored expression on the opposite man with the eye patch who just scowled at him.

"Are you even allowed to be talking to me now?" Masamune growled and the other gave a noncommittal shrug.

"I'm on break now. Anything else?" Sasuke's hand made its way up to the black bandanna, adjusting it so it wouldn't slip over his eyes.

"Where'd you get the tattoos?"

"Questionable place downtown," came the vague and lackadaisical answer.

"Why do you wear that bandanna?"

"I like it."

"That's it?"

A flash of annoyance crossed Sasuke's face before it was smoothed back into a detached look.

"Yes."

The two appraised each other for a while when Masamune suddenly asked, "What's your type?"

This garnered a surprised reaction from the tattooed, bandanna-wearing, currently-on-break waiter.

"Wh-why?"

"Just wondering. My type is cute brunettes." Masamune watched as Sasuke's eyes flitted to something over his right shoulder then returned just as quickly to Masamune.

"Sorry, but I go for blondes. Guess you lucked out."

And with that, Sasuke stood with a strange expression on his face and strode over to Yukimura who was balancing too many cups on a tray on the other side of the café.

Wait… did that waiter think he was…?

His confuddled and relative peace was shattered literally by a tinkling crash of glass, then an almighty, "YUKIMURA, YOU FOOL!" followed by a flying body that skidded out onto the wide pedestrian strip, frightening a mother with her stroller.

The few regulars barely flinched at the sudden event of waiters being thrown bodily through the air by their bosses. Masamune, however, was not a regular and stood to check if the brunet was okay.

Hell, he wasn't sure if the waiter was even alive after being punched that hard.

What he received was a fist a few scant inches from his nose, whose air displacement scraped along his cheeks and ruffled his hair.

Yukimura jolted in surprise when he saw Masamune, and quickly retracted his hand, bowing and apologising profusely.

By the counter, Motochika muttered, "And here we go."

A gentleman would have graciously accepted the apology from the employee who nearly punched his face. However, Masamune Date was no gentleman.

As Yukimura's head was bowed, Masamune raised a fist and furiously thumped the long-haired waiter over the cranium.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Masamune roared as Yukimura momentarily clutched his head and looked up at the irate eye-patched maniac before him, teary-eyed. Within moments, both men had raised another arm to punch the other.

And so, they continued to trade blows in front of the Kai Café. At first it was only through spite that they hit each other, but the anger warped and became something akin to excitement, then a mutual but grudging respect. As if it were natural for them to be brawling like this.

"Stop." The tattooed man appeared with ninja-like speed and grabbed both men by the collar, wrenching them apart, just as Yukimura was about to poke Masamune in his only good eye and Masamune was about to yank on the waiter's long hair.

"Aw… But can't we fight a little more, brother?" Yukimura whined from Sasuke's right.

"_You're_ his older brother." Masamune said incredulously.

"No. Yes, and what of it?" snapped Sasuke, who released the two after being certain that they would not start fighting again. Yukimura trotted off back to the counter, where Shingen was scowling down on him.

"You two look…"

"Unrelated? Yes, that's because we _are_ unrelated by blood. Shingen's our adoptive parent," Sasuke said this all in his usual dry and nonchalant manner. "Well, I have to go back to work now. Try not to brawl with Yukimura – you'll scare away customers."

And with that, Sasuke strolled off; pen and pad in hand.

"So, Date, how do you like this little establishment now?" Motochika asked with a grin. Masamune gave no reply, even when his friend waved an impatient hand in front of his face.

"I…"

"What was that?"

"I'm starting to like this town again!" Motochika saw the almost feral glint in his friend's mercury eyes and felt the burning emotion that rolled off Masamune in waves. He knew then, that Masamune was fixed on coming to the Kai Café for the rest of his life, just to form a bond with the little waiter being shouted down inside the shop.

Poor Yukimura.

"YUKIMURAAA!"

And said waiter went flying out of the shop again, making his acquaintance with the light post behind the two eye-patch buddies.

* * *

Night fell again and Motochika dragged Masamune off to Aki Club again. This time, the other missing employee, Oichi, was back.

Masamune had to admit – she was rather cute, albeit slightly familiar. However, she would often sing little nursery rhymes to herself as she wandered around the bar, taking orders and cleaning tables. Her eyes always had a slightly dazed look to them; as if she were in a trance.

As the night wore on, one rather drunk man attempted to grope the waitress and quicker than Masamune's eye could follow, her hand had grasped the drunkard's wrist and twisted it to the point of near-breaking. The dreamy expression on her face did not falter for even a second.

It seemed to Masamune that the bar was a little more crowded than the day before; more middle aged, shady characters floating in. Motochika, however, greeted them all the same and prepared their drinks.

Staying with Motochika in Sakigahara City was as far as Masamune had gotten in terms of a plan for leaving his academics-obsessed family. Motochika said that he was perfectly okay with Masamune staying with him, but Masamune knew that he had to move out eventually.

They had mutually agreed, though a little reluctantly on Motochika's part, that once Masamune had a job and was moving at a reasonable pace through life, he'd leave.

For now, he had taken residence on the couch in the living room.

"Would Dragon like a drink?" It took a moment for Masamune to realise that Oichi was talking to him. Looking into her deep, lavender eyes, he jumped at how close she had gotten without him realising.

"N-no. I'm fine, thanks." And Oichi glided off.

Shaking his head, he clambered out of his bar couch by the window and approached Motochika.

"Oichi just called me 'Dragon'." Masamune mused.

Motochika chuckled.

"At least that sounds cooler than 'Pirate'."

Masamune smirked. "I vaguely recall you proclaiming at the top of our high school that your dream was to become a pirate, Chosokabe."

"That was a dare, Dragon."

And Masamune hit him.

"No it wasn't. The dare was 'Go to the top of the school and shout what you want to be when you grow up'. Not shout 'I wanna be a pirate'."

This is why they are friends: they know too much about each other.

* * *

It turned out that the busty blonde waitress in the Kai Café was called Kasuga. Just Kasuga. And no, she did not give out numbers. And it appeared that Sasuke was crushing hard on her.

The whole attitude change from the older Shingen brother was rather unnerving in Masamune's opinion.

The other meeker, lavender-eyed one was called Ichi, which Masamune identified from the night before.

"Doesn't she work in the bar at night?" Masamune asked the next day, when they returned to sit in the café.

"Miss Ichi? No, you're thinking of Oichi."

"They look exactly the same. Does she have a twin?"

"No. Mori never mentioned any siblings. Neither have I ever seen any."

"But-"

"If she works at both the Kai Café and Aki, when does she sleep for the whole week?"

"She looks like she sleeps on her feet the way she does everything."

"Masamune, that's rude."

"Since when have I never been polite?"

"…Point taken."

A little later in the day, around the time when the larger eye-patched guy had dozed off in his chair as per usual and Yukimura was on break (which he and Sasuke – who was also on break – spent in town), a man with long, dark hair that framed his handsome face walked into the café, holding a crate of flowers.

"Boss, Azai Nagamasa here with the flowers we ordered." Kasuga nudged the larger adult with an elbow as she made a cup of coffee.

"Ah, you're here. Can you get Ichi to arrange them in the vases on the tables inside?" Shingen pointed to the waitress who was drying cutlery on the other side of the kitchen with a glazed expression. Azai seemed to freeze up a little; a faint blush colouring is neck. Masamune wandered into the line to the counter, casually watching the scene between the dozy waitress and the flower guy.

"I-ichi, can you help me put these flowers into vases?" Azai's face was starting to light up in an amusing shade of red.

Ichi's eyes flickered a little before clearing and becoming bright for the first time the eye patched man had ever seen the girl.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Mr Nagamasa. I was so preoccupied by my work that I did not hear you requesting my help!" And Ichi dissolved into a mess of "I'm sorry"-s while the other made a complete flip and began reprimanding her for some reason.

"Ichi, you must not apologise for everything that goes wrong."

"Yes, I'm sorry! I'll try harder next time. I'm sorry!"

"They're always like this." Kasuga was inexplicably beside Masamune, causing him to jump.

_This was starting to become a trend_, Masamune thought.

"Azai-kun comes over every week to deliver our flower order then Shingen makes him work with Ichi. He says it'll help her 'people skills' but somehow, I doubt that."

"…Are all the workers here ninjas or nuts?"

Kasuga treated Masamune to a glare before turning sharply and flounced off, slapping the eye-patched man in the face with her long hair in the process.

And promptly ran back to the door with stars in her eyes.

"Mr Uesugi! How nice to see you, what would you like today?" Kasuga breathily trilled, an expression of adoration on her face that suddenly brought the image of a happy puppy to Masamune's mind.

Kenshin Uesugi was of a slim build and such feminine features that Masamune wondered if he were male at all. Only his voice and clothing defined his gender from the other.

Kenshin gently handed is coat to Kasuga. "Thank you. Just the usual today."

His voice matched his eyes: smooth and clear like a sheet of ice.

Shaking his head, Masamune left and tried to prod Motochika awake. After four repetitions of 'just one more minute', Masamune threw his hands up in exasperation and fished in his flatmate's pockets for the spare key. They had been meaning to make a copy for Masamune but it seemed that Motochika was not going anywhere soon so the shorter of the two left to go look for a key cutter in town.

Sakigahara City was large, but logically set out. Kai Café was in the western side of the city centre, as were most entertainment venues, while in the north was the high end of society. The high rises and classy, clean streets were a dead giveaway.

The south was full of the less than reputable services a city could offer. Not awful, not like Shuu-o Town, but still dangerous.

The east and west were a sprawling mess of grungy apartments and dingy urban houses where graffiti filled even the bins, and gangs coated the streets thicker than the slime on the water pipes. On both sides of the city, there were two rivers that diverged from the north to cut short the residential east and west while two rivulets dribbled through the city via a set of canals. This left the city shaped like a fork where the only proper way out was across the multitude of bridges that dotted the four rivers.

This was where Masamune Date was brought up before his family followed fortune elsewhere and ended up in Shuu-o Town.

As Masamune walked through the streets, he contemplated on where he could find a key cutter. He'd only left for five years but in that short space of time, the city seemed to have shifted without him. He decided eventually to walk around the western side of the city centre. Surely there would be one somewhere.

After wandering aimlessly for half an afternoon, Masamune lost his patience and turned back the way he came. The street was empty save for a small group of men at the other end. As he approached them, they started to shout and hoot. One even tossed his beer can at Masamune.

His aim was so bad that Masamune didn't have to stop for the flying metal to miss.

"Oi! Don't walk past us like you don't see us, ya rich moof!" Masamune's eyebrow twitched. He doubted he had a cent in his pocket right now, only a bent key and his old mobile.

A hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and spun Masamune around. The drunken group on the street had multiplied into a small gang of eleven. They formed a loose circle around Masamune, bunching more to his right – his blind side.

Carefully scanning the attacking group, he spotted a couple of the men bearing a red arm band with yellow coin designs. Others were sporting bruises. One had a crooked nose.

"Hey, ain't he the guy from before wit' the Demon of Iyo?"

…Demon of Iyo?

Masamune made a mental note to ask his eye patch buddy later.

One of the thugs peered closely. Masamune could tell that he was missing some teeth.

"Yea, dat ovfer eye patsh guy."

Okay, that voice was getting to him.

Lashing out lightning fast, Masamune slammed a palm into the most leader-like person's face and pushed their pompadoured head into the ground hard. From there, he made a round-house kick to right himself and take out another man. That was about as far as he got in terms of 'defending himself'.

The rest of the group (all nine of them) jumped him and flattened themselves on Masamune, driving the air from his lungs.

The thug he had kicked staggered upright, spitting the blood in his mouth onto Masamune's face.

"You be needin' an ed-u-cation!" he ground out and Masamune rolled his eye.

Seriously, where were the schools in this place?

The men on top of Masamune shuffled around and roughly hoisted him up, keeping him on his knees. The first punch was easily expected and Masamune inched right out of range, the man's fist sailing past. The second was hard and angry. It caught him under his blind eye and Masamune's head snapped to the side.

Lights danced in his vision as he felt hot blood drip down over his cheek.

The next punch caught his jaw, tearing him from his captors' hands. Masamune's side hit the pavement hard, his ears ringing. Pain tingled in his hip and shoulder where they scraped along the ground while dirt and sweat dripped into his eye. Distantly, he heard shouts then several voices, and then the vibrations in the concrete signalled the retreat of his attackers.

Sound rushed back into his ears when he felt hands shaking his left shoulder.

"Masamune Date, can you hear me?"

Blinking the grit from his only working eye, Masamune rolled onto his back.

"…Yukimura?"


	3. Of Pink, Tigers and Karma

Love, the Cassette Tape

**Full Title: Of Pink, Tigers And Karma**

**Thanks to Felicity () for your review! Seeing as I couldn't reply, I may as well reply here: that's awesome and I hope you keep reading!**

**Screw it, updates around once every two weeks. I can't stand waiting another four days or so.**

**Engrish shall be bold. Argh. AU yet not quite AU. This is annoying…**

* * *

Yukimura took Masamune back to his flat which was two blocks away; much closer than Motochika's place.

When Masamune stepped into the living space, he was surprised at how neat it was. The kitchen was spotless and the wooden floor, clean. A bright red rug decorated the living room with a battered sofa and equally as shabby television. A stack of action DVDs sat on the coffee table, along with the remote and yesterday's newspaper. There were two open doors – one displayed a master bedroom while the other had two decently sized beds.

"Pink with tigers?" Masamune gestured to the bed spread in the twin bedroom.

Yukimura blushed adorably. "I bought that when I was ten."

Masamune chuckled. "Nah, I just thought it was cute."

"Sit here." Yukimura pushed him onto a tall kitchen chair while he ran off to find the first-aid kit. From the kitchen, he had a better view of Yukimura's (and most likely Sasuke's) bedroom.

Sasuke's bed spread was a deep green, like his tattoos. A red bandanna and a kitsune* mask from some long-forgotten festival hung on the metal post of the bed frame.

There was a large desk that was buried with old papers and several tins stuffed with pens and other stationery poking haphazardly out of their tops. Two charging laptops sat side by side on the floor, and a small vanity dresser decorated the space beside the desk. A wall-sized cupboard took up the other.

Yukimura returned with the kit and busied himself with pouring out the medicinal alcohol into a dish while sticking small wipes in the liquid. Tweezers and some other cloths were set neatly on the table next to the soaking wipes. Bandage tape was then taken out with a pair of small scissors.

"You're really… organised." Masamune stated a little stupidly. He blamed it on the concussion. Maybe.

"Yes. Sasuke and I got hurt a lot when we were younger so we both learned how to take care of injuries really early."

"No, I mean your place is also really tidy."

"Yeah, my older brother is like that. Now, hold still." Yukimura lifted a swab with the tweezers held delicately in his fingers. Gently, he touched it against the scrape along his chin. Pain seeped into Masamune's consciousness but he didn't flinch.

After all, pain was an inseparable part of Masamune's life.

"You're really calm about this, Masamune." It took a moment for him to realise he had been staring at Yukimura while he cleaned.

"Oh, well I've gotten used to pain so it doesn't really bother me."

Yukimura smiled and returned to his work.

"You're like Sasuke then. He says that pain is just your body telling your brain that it doesn't like what's happening to it. If you ignore it, it goes away."

Masamune frowned. How was he even remotely similar to that apathetic guy?

"He thinks," Yukimura continued. "If you think really hard, you can ignore all the pain in your body and it would be like you were never injured at all." The younger brunet took Masamune's hand while picking up another clean swab.

"I think it just hurts more." Yukimura said with a chuckle.

A small smile had unknowingly found its way onto Masamune's face and he gripped Yukimura's hand a little tighter, feeling callouses that came with scrubbing pots at the end of the day.

With Masamune's hand clean, Yukimura reached for the other's eye patch before hesitating. Masamune made an unconsciously guarded face.

His eye patch was what everyone stared at when he walked along the road. Children were pulled to their mothers' sides and Masamune had received more than his fair share of glares and passing glances. Masamune himself hated his right eye – it was what had taken his own mother away from him. A weakness.

Perhaps it was being friends with Motochika that had changed his opinion of himself a little. Before, he would attack anyone who gave him a second look. Then one morning, a white-haired, eye-patched weirdo with a penchant for simultaneously wearing and not wearing his blazer slung an arm over his shoulder and proclaimed them to be 'eye patch buddies'. They had eventually beaten each other to a pulp, but saw a friend in each other.

Eye patch buddies forever.

After a moment of hesitation, he reached up and undid the clasp. The black eye patch peeled off his face, matted with blood.

Yukimura let out a soft gasp and Masamune saw his fingers twitch, as if wanting to touch the sunken, scarred skin that was his eye.

Squeezing his other eye shut, Masamune waited for the probing fingers. Everyone he showed the old wound to wanted to touch the convoluted skin, as if to ascertain that it was actually real. He just was sick and tired of that reaction; it made him feel weak, as if those people now had an excuse to patronise him or second guess his judgement because of it. Instead of curious digits, he felt the sting of antiseptic on the cut on the bottom of his empty eye socket.

He couldn't help it, Masamune yelped.

"Don't move, Masamune! Do you want me to clean it for you or not?" Yukimura snapped, a cute pout on his face. Masamune laughed. Covering his left side of his face with his hand, Masamune shook his head.

"Um… did I offend you?" Yukimura rested a hand on Masamune's shoulder.

"No. It's just that I've never had your… reaction." Masamune murmured, looking at the other through his fingers, heart pounding though he didn't know why.

Yukimura tilted his head to the side, reminding Masamune of a clueless puppy.

"I don't think any less of you, Masamune," Yukimura smiled gently as he wiped away the rest of the blood and stuck a small strip of tape over the cut. "Actually, I think it makes you look cooler."

Cooler?

Masamune grimaced.

"I lost my eye to smallpox when I was born," Masamune looked intently at Yukimura. "I lost my mother because of it."

Would he say 'I'm sorry' like everyone else? Pity him for it? Or would he say-

"How so?" Masamune blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

Yukimura repeated his question.

"How did you lose your mother? Wouldn't she love you all the more because of your eye?"

Masamune's face fell as his heart thudded painfully in his chest. Should he tell him? What would he think of his family if he told Yukimura that his own mother shunned and disowned him because of the weakness he was born with?

"It's okay. You don't need to tell me now."

What?

Yukimura reached up to cup his face in a warm palm.

"Tell me when you're ready. I'll be waiting… if you ever want to say, that is."

Masamune's expression creased into a frown and his hand rose to cover Yukimura's. Maybe there were different people, ones that didn't judge.

And at that moment, Masamune found a friend. A naïve, stubborn and passionate friend: Yukimura.

"What's _he_ doing in our apartment?"

Of course, karma (and Sasuke) had to come around and ruin the moment.

* * *

"So… Yukimura took you back to our apartment because he wanted to clean you wounds."

"For the ninth time, yes." Masamune ground out.

"AND WHY AM I TIED TO THE CHAIR?"

Straight after Sasuke had seen him and Yukimura, the older brother had lunged forward and in a whirlwind of flailing limbs, Masamune was somehow tied to a different chair in a different room.

Where the rope came from, he'd never know.

"Sasuke, he's telling the truth!" Yukimura whined through the doorway, clutching Masamune's now-clean eye patch.

"No people in the interrogation room!"

"It's the laundry. And aren't you two 'people' anyway?"

"I don't care!"

Masamune sighed in exasperation. His shoulders were stiff from having his hands tied behind his back for a little over an hour and the rope cut into his wrists.

He then wondered what was for dinner.

"Sarutobi, I think you're taking this a little too far," Shingen Takeda filled the doorway as Yukimura shrank out of view. "We don't treat guests like this."

Masamune aimed a smug smile at Sasuke who glared right back.

"Fine." Sasuke snapped and tugged on one of the ropes binding Masamune. It unravelled completely.

Massaging the feeling back into his fingers and cursing himself for not thinking of pulling on the ropes, Masamune followed as Sasuke stalked out of the laundry/interrogation room.

Sasuke stomped into the kitchen and started to make dinner while muttering darkly to himself about a 'stuck-up, eye-patched moron that preyed on little brothers if you took your eyes off them for one moment to go grocery shopping'.

Shingen sat on the couch and began reading a new newspaper, feet propped up on the table over the old one.

Yukimura walked Masamune to the door as the other called his white-haired friend and handed him his eye patch.

"Thanks for cleaning it." Masamune said while strapping it back over his scarred eye. A pan banged noisily on the stove in the kitchen.

Yukimura laughed sheepishly. "Thankfully, I know how to clean leather. So… no harm done?"

"No harm done." Masamune grinned.

"Are you going to be okay walking back?" Yukimura's face grew worried.

"Yeah. I called Motochika so he should come soon enough. Besides, we only live a couple of blocks away."

They waited in companionable silence while the sound of frying meat and the aroma of cooking food filled the flat.

It was the first time Masamune had properly seen Yukimura, what with all the hustle and bustle of their first meeting and Yukimura's job then the incident that afternoon. They had similar builds and were about the same height, Yukimura being a scant inch shorter. The long hair that flowed out from just above Yukimura's neck was surprisingly neat and untangled even after a day of work. Masamune wondered why he didn't cut the long hair off.

If Yukimura was the fire that radiated warmth, Masamune was the steel that drew the heat in.

"Can you give me your phone?"

"Here."

Yukimura had quickly developed the ability to multitask, having lived with his adoptive father and Sasuke for so long. In the reflection of Masamune's phone, he stole glances at the other man without seeming rude while typing his name and phone number at the same time.

The phone's bright light reflected off Masamune's left eye, making the silvery mercury colour seem bluer. Masamune was also undoubtedly good looking and Yukimura was sure that he would have had a fairly long chain of admirers in high school. His mouth seemed to be permanently carved into a light smirk.

_Such a good poker face,_ Yukimura's brain added before mentally shaking itself.

The smaller brunet handed the phone back to his new friend with a smile. The inside of Masamune's hands was soft and smooth though his knuckles would forever be a darkened colour due to the many fights he had been in. Yukimura momentarily wondered what kind of fights Masamune was in to get those kinds of injuries.

The doorbell rang and Yukimura pressed the button that opened the first door at the bottom of the apartment block.

"Did it ever occur to you that that person might not have been Motochika?" Masamune muttered.

"…"

"You have no survival instincts at all, do you?"

"That's what Sasuke says to me all the time!"

Masamune gave the smaller brunet a look. "That's not a compliment."

The doorbell rang again and this time, Masamune opened the door a crack in case the person outside was a homicidal maniac with a penchant for ringing doorbells before breaking and entering.

Outside was a wannabe pirate with a penchant for infuriating his boss upon sight.

Close enough.

"Hey there, pirate."

"Hey, man. I hear you got beaten up. Again."

Masamune shut the door.

"Can I stay at your place, Yukimura?"

"NO!" came from the kitchen.

"Oi! Masamune, open up. That's mean!" Motochika pounded on the door.

"_Please?_"

Yukimura laughed and opened the door for Motochika.

"Masa, you wound me." Whining and pouting, however odd it looked on the giant that was Motochika, were his stronger traits carried over from a pre-pubescent age. Unfortunately, it was a permanent setting regarding Masamune (and probably Mori too) for the white-haired man.

"Don't call me Masa! **Sorry** for all the trouble," Masamune added and Yukimura frowned.

"Don't speak in foreign languages, please. I can't understand it." Yukimura said, looking a little upset. Masamune laughed and ruffled the younger man's hair.

"Learn it then. Or just** get used to it** because I'm not stopping." Masamune smirked.

Yukimura pouted and then mock punched Masamune on the ribs.

It _hurt._

"Ow…"

"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Masamune rubbed his side while Shingen badly stifled a chuckle behind his newspaper and Motochika laughed uproariously. "Ah, no problem. I'll be fine, just don't do that again."

Yukimura apologetically held out a hand. Puzzled, Masamune just looked at it blankly.

"Yukimura Sanada. It's nice to meet you properly."

"Oh," Masamune hesitated before taking the offered hand. "Masamune Date."

"Yes, yes that's nice," Sasuke shouted from the kitchen hands wringing a tea towel, sorely wishing it was Masamune's neck instead.

"Now get out of our apartment."

* * *

**What exactly are they speaking if Engrish is bold? I originally thought they were speaking English…**

***fox**

**Reviews are like Engrish to Masamune.**


	4. A Touch Of Mutinous History

Love, the Cassette Tape

**Full Title: A Touch Of Mutinous History**

**First of all, I was at the 2012 SMASH convention in Sydney cosplaying Sasuke Sarutobi (ninja-style). It was awesome and anyone out there who was there and saw, great. Drop a review and we can fangasm over all the Basara cosplay groups.**

**Also, shameless self-advertising, I entered SMASH's Fanfiction competition and won the Judge's Pick award. It's another Basara fic and it's up here as well. Check my profile for it.**

**If you have time, go read it please. :)**

**Was watching POTC 2 while writing this. Wrote this chapter before watching Season 2 of the anime, so sorry for the extreme OOC for Hanbei. Awful gang names ahead.**

**This is when Ieyasu is about 15, Mitsunari 17, Motochika 18, and Saica 17. I.e. Five years ago. Normal font is one year prior to Masamune's arrival to Sakigahara.**

* * *

_It was the fall of summer. The heat clung to every surface and gave no cool reprieve to the outside world. Even at night, warmth still hung low in the air. _

_The air was humid – thickly so that it felt like breathing water instead of oxygen. _

_It was in this air that Ieyasu Tokugawa ran. _

_The Silver Blades_ _had jumped him on the street and attacked, even though Ieyasu's gang – the Gold Suns – had a long standing alliance with them. _

_Fearing the worst, Ieyasu headed to their collective base: the warehouses on West River._

_Skidding around the last corner, he saw that the pathway was littered with bodies. Many of them bore the Gold Suns' insignia: three yellow stylised spades in a circle. Others wore the Silver Blades jacket._

_Not stopping to check if any were conscious, Ieyasu charged through and made his way to the warehouse they had collectively bought. Heaving on the huge iron door, it grated open, rust sprinkling from the peeling surface._

_The warehouse was dark but Ieyasu easily reached for the power switch. Overhead, the lights flickered into life revealing the carnage._

_The concrete floor was carpeted with still, bloody bodies; their leader lay among them – dying._

_Wha-?_

"_Don't move." Something cool and thin touched against the back of Ieyasu's neck. _

_It wasn't the cold metal that sent shivers down his spine._

"_Han…bei?" Ieyasu whispered._

_Hanbei chuckled lightly. "Welcome home, Ieyasu."_

"_Hanbei, what did you do?" Ieyasu stood frozen, looking at the broken bodies that littered the warehouse floor. _

"_Not what _I _did, what you did. As to why, that's for me to know," Hanbei removed the crowbar he was holding from Ieyasu's exposed neck. "And your dear friends to find out."_

_Hanbei flicked the power switch shut and left Ieyasu floundering in the dark._

"_HANBEI!" Ieyasu roared and groped in the dark for that murderous white-haired bastard. His hands found nothing so Ieyasu reached for the lights again. Hanbei's laughter filled the warehouse as electricity returned. _

_Running across the floor, Ieyasu followed the gleeful giggling to where he knew the loading dock was behind the warehouse. Something caught Ieyasu's ankle and he went sprawling face first into the sanguine muck that covered the concrete. _

"_Boss Hideyoshi! You're still alive!" _

_Hideyoshi Toyotomi made a derisive snort. "Not for long, I'm not."_

"_Don't talk like that!" Ieyasu dialled for an ambulance with shaking fingers.  
_

"_Ieyasu…"_

"_Stop talking, you'll be fine! Hideyoshi, don't die."_

"_No, Hanbei is trying to frame you."_

"_Huh?" Ieyasu rubbed away the tears that trickled down his cheeks._

"_You need to run, Ieyasu… Otherwise…"_

"_But-"_

"_Just run!" Hideyoshi roared and exploded into a fit of coughs._

"_Boss Hideyoshi!" A Sliver Blade member staggered through the door, holding his side. He also ran over to his fallen boss, own injuries forgotten._

"_Who did this to you?" _

"_Hanbei, but you must tell this to Mitsunari and Yoshitsugu," Hideyoshi ground out. "Ieyasu, run now!"_

"_But I don't know where Hanbei went!" _

"_That doesn't matter right now! You know if Mitsunari saw the Golden Sun general here, right now, he would not stop until you were dead."_

_Ieyasu gritted his teeth then nodded once._

"_Good." Murmured Hideyoshi and his eyes slid closed. _

_The two heard ambulance sirens approaching and Ieyasu clambered onto the large crate that divided the storage space into two, tears stinging his eyes. Looking back, he burnt the image of his dying leader that he considered something akin to a father into his retinas. _

"_Boss Hideyoshi! What's going on-" Mitsunari Ishida entered, his emerald eyes taking in the scene. Hideyoshi was dying (_not dead, he's not dead_, thought Ieyasu) and the bodies of his second family lay crumpled around. It came to Ieyasu's attention that he must still be covered with blood from when he fell._

"_IEYASU, WHY?" Mitsunari roared and he drew the antique sword at his hip, casting the black sheath aside. _

"_It wasn't me, I swear it!" Ieyasu hesitated. Run or clear his name?_

"_I'LL KILL YOU!" _

_One look at Mitsunari made Ieyasu's decision for him. He turned tail and ran._

_Red and blue lights flashed through the door and were cast high upon the wall as Ieyasu swung out onto the loading dock. _

_It was old, water-bloated wood out on the floating wharf and one wrong step would plunge Ieyasu into the black river that was thick with oil and flaking paint. But Ieyasu had spent many summer days leaping from board to board with his friends, with Mitsunari. _

_He prayed that all the playful runs would pay off tonight: just this night when he needed it most._

_The familiar sound of sneakers pounding on brittle wood almost soothed Ieyasu and before he knew it, his feet were hitting concrete walkway. The flashing lights of the white ambulance shone behind him as his shadow stretched out in front, longer and longer. The familiar shadow of Mitsunari snuck up beside him and Ieyasu made a sharp right turn into the docklands. _

_He couldn't go home to the flat he had shared with the other 'generals' – The Red Giant, The Masked Knight, The Golden General, and the Misfortune King – of the Toyotomi Clan. Where could he go?_

_The rabbits warren of the docklands proved useful because after the crazed haze of fear and desperation had lifted, Ieyasu realised he couldn't hear the light thumping of Mitsunari's feet any more. His lungs burned and his stomach was twisted in knots. Tears poured down his face and Ieyasu stopped by a grungy wall to wipe them away._

_They wouldn't stop._

_Setting off on a quick jog, Ieyasu made his way out of the docklands and into the western suburban area. Ducking down behind bushes whenever a car passed by, Ieyasu kept moving, half-afraid of turning a corner and finding Mitsunari or a policeman. _

_The buildings became less squat and morphed into taller apartment blocks as Ieyasu neared the centre of the city. A warm wind blew by but it chilled the boy to the bone. He raised his hood as the heat broke and the rain fell in icy sheets. _

_Thoroughly soaked, Ieyasu turned another corner and stopped in a small alleyway filled with black trash bags when his resolution to move forward failed. His back hit the brick wall and he slid down, silently crying. Ice filled his soul as quickly as the rain had drenched him, smearing the blood that stained his clothes. _

_A door opened and his head shot up in fear. Sea-blue eyes blinked back in shock._

"_Ieyasu? Why're you here?"_

_Motochika Chosokabe, Ieyasu's childhood friend and one he hadn't seen for over ten years, dropped the rubbish he was holding and ran over to him. _

"_Ieyasu, come in." Motochika said gently and he helped his friend stand, realising he was in no condition to remain outside. _

_Ieyasu trembled as they waited for the elevator to come down. Images of Hideyoshi and Mitsunari kept flashing through his head. He only dimly processed the journey to Motochika's flat. _

_Once safely inside, Motochika pulled out several towels while Ieyasu stood dumbfounded by the front door; dripping silently onto the wood flooring. He sneezed when his brain finally registered that the air conditioning was on. _

"_Ieyasu, you need to take a shower." Motochika said carefully, looked directly into Ieyasu's vacant topaz eyes. Dazed, Ieyasu could only nod slowly, still not really taking in what was transpiring. Ieyasu was slowly coaxed into the bathroom and Motochika left so he could properly clean himself._

_Hot water – much hotter than the boy would normally stand – streamed down his back, a stark contrast to the pouring rain that lashed against the frosted window. After just standing in the shower for a full twenty minutes, Ieyasu decided that he didn't like being boiled anymore and shut the water. _

_Drying himself was like voluntarily peeling off his skin with the fluffy towel of doom but he managed anyway and pulled on Motochika's three-year-old oversized pyjamas. _

_A knock on the door startled Ieyasu and he hurriedly opened the door, letting clouds of steam escape from the room. Motochika smiled gently and led the traumatised boy over to the kitchen table where he had made a cup of hot chocolate. _

_Ieyasu sat, staring into the purple mug filled with mixed milk and chocolate. It was one of his favourite drinks but the purple just reminded Ieyasu of Mitsunari. Distantly, he heard the washing machine start from another room. Motochika returned with his own mug of hot chocolate._

_They sat in silence; Ieyasu just swilled the milky contents around. _

"_Do you want to tell me what happened?" _

_Ieyasu's face creased into a pained frown. He shook his head, indicating a silent 'no'. _

"_Okay then. Do you want to sleep now?"_

_Ieyasu bobbed his head once in a semblance of a 'yes'. _

_Motochika had already arranged the sofa into a suitable sleeping space. Ieyasu gathered the yellow blankets around him and curled up, inhaling the residual aroma of polishing wax and cleaning agent as the flat darkened with every light that switched off. Motochika crawled into his bed and flicked off the light, letting darkness settle over the small apartment._

_Ten seconds later, Ieyasu leapt out of the blankets and dove under Motochika's covers like they did when they were much younger. And smaller._

"_Oomph. 'Yasu, we're not eleven anymore." Motochika muttered in the dark. The younger of the two clutched the blankets tighter around himself, stubbornly staying where he was._

"_Fine, just don't kick me out of bed like before."_

(Line break)

_Ieyasu woke to an empty bed, save for a foot stuck in the covers. Motochika was still snoring on the floor._

_Gently prodding his childhood friend's chest, Ieyasu tried to wake Motochika up. Not succeeding in the least, Ieyasu shrugged and crawled out of bed. _

_The heat was back and even early in the morning, Motochika's flat was starting to become stiflingly hot. Ieyasu walked into the bathroom and rummaged through the drawers, finding a new toothbrush. Brushing his teeth, Ieyasu reflected on what had happened the night before. Running to the lounge room, he turned on the news._

"'…and the perpetrator of last night's gang war is said to be one of the most vicious out of the Silver Blades.' 'Really? I can't see why the Sakigahara Police Force can't put a stop to these gangs from wreaking havoc on our streets.' 'Yes, apparently, three people have died since last night and over twenty were badly injured.' 'But really, these gangs have done nothing worse than graffiti unused buildings until last night…'"

_Ieyasu flicked to another channel._

"…instigator of last night's gang war is presumed to be Hanbei Takenaka, though he has not been found as of yet…"

_Ieyasu collapsed onto the sofa, still messy with blankets. _

_The general public know that it was Hanbei's fault. Now, did Mitsunari think it too?_

_Motochika groaned from the bedroom._

"'_Yasu, you kicked me out again!"_

_Ieyasu tilted his head over the couch back so everything was upside down. Motochika walked into the living room, working the kinks out of his muscles._

"_Did not. You rolled out by yourself." Ieyasu replied with a hint of indignation._

"_Hey! You're talking again!" Motochika pounced and started to pinch Ieyasu's cheeks who immediately flailed and tried to escape. _

"_Stop it! We're not eleven anymore!" Ieyasu wriggled under Motochika's larger frame and tried to kick him off._

"_Yeah, that didn't seem to stop you last night!" Motochika's moved down and started to tickle the younger. Their laughter almost drowned out the doorbell ringing and eventually, Motochika got up to look through the peephole. _

_The grin was instantly wiped off the eye patched man's face._

"_Ieyasu, go to the bedroom and close the door." Ieyasu frowned but did as his friend ordered. His skin crawled. _

_Was it Mitsunari? Was he looking for him? Or was it the police? The newscaster did say that the perpetrator for the gang war last night was only _presumed_ to be Hanbei._

_He shut the door behind but lay on the floor and peered through the crack below. He halted the impulse to sneeze. When was the last time Motochika vacuumed the carpet?_

_Motochika swung the door open and there stood two people, a man and a woman. The man was dressed in a police's uniform but the other looked to be around Ieyasu's age and was wearing a normal pair of jeans and a green singlet with a light, brown jacket over the top. _

"_Hello, we're from the Sakigahara Police Force. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" said the policeman. _

"_Sure," replied Motochika though he didn't move from his spot in front of the door. "Ask away."_

_The policeman hesitated. _

"_Do you know who this man is?" and the policeman held up a small photo of Ieyasu. Ieyasu himself recognised it as the photo from his old school ID. _

_Motochika made a small show of peering at the photo._

"_Well, that looks like one of my old childhood friends but I haven't seen him in a while," the snowy-haired man gave the policeman a level look. "I heard he was on the news lately."_

_The woman sighed once and gently pushed the policeman to the side. "He is here, Mr Chosokabe."_

_Motochika frowned._

"_I saw him enter your apartment last night. After all, I live below you." _

_Ieyasu sucked in a sharp breath._

_Motochika, on the other hand, peered closely at the woman then his expression brightened. "Ah! Magoichi Saica, right?"_

_Magoichi sighed again. "Of course, you dolt!"_

"_Why're you with the police right now anyway?" Magoichi gave him a flat look._

"_Oh… right." And Motochika finally let them in._

"_Sorry, 'Yasu. Saica wants to talk, I guess."_

_Ieyasu still didn't move. If she lived below Motochika, how did she see him last night? Ieyasu vaguely remembered using the elevator. _

"_Hm… maybe he didn't hear me." Motochika's feet enlarged as he drew closer and Ieyasu scrambled up in order to not have his face smeared into the carpet by the door._

"_She can't have seen us last night," hissed Ieyasu as Motochika opened the door. "We were in the elevator!"_

_A look of realisation dawned upon Motochika's face. Clearly, he was not a morning person._

"_There're blankets on the sofa. And two cups on the table," Magoichi approached them. "Also, you don't know anyone else aside from Motochika outside of the Gold Suns, right?" _

_Well… when she put it that way._

"_We're here to protect you, just in case Hanbei comes back," Saica held out her hand and Ieyasu hesitantly shook it. It was worn and as calloused as Ieyasu's own, but also warmly reassuring. "Magoichi Saica. Commander-in-chief of the Sakigahara Police Force."_

"Mr Tokugawa, perhaps you could answer this question. I know you've finished the last of your exams for high school, but it's not an excuse to be distracted during class." Ieyasu blushed and stammered out the answer to the weird mind-bender question on the board. After all, puzzle-solving was always something he was good at and the skill had come in handy more often than not.

A paper flew through the air when the teacher turned his back and it sailed neatly onto Ieyasu's table. Unwrinkling the scrap, he read the tiny, neat writing that was inscribed in black ink.

'Thinking about that year?'

Ieyasu pulled out his pen and wrote a response, throwing it with practiced precision over his shoulder.

'Was it really that obvious?"

The expected reply bounced back onto Ieyasu's desk.

'Yes. The teacher called you twice but you did not move.'

Ieyasu sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he wrote his response.

'Sorry, Tadakatsu.'

* * *

**Guesses on who own the different names of the Toyotomi Generals get a preview of the next chapter! (I think it should be pretty easy)**

**I don't really have a role for Tadakatsu yet but Ieyasu seems a little incomplete without his flying mecha…**

**Reviews are like marshmallows to hot chocolate.**


	5. Squabbling Like Cats and Foxes

**Love, the Cassette Tape**

**Sorry this was late;; I have exams right now so writing has stopped. :( But here's a chapter to keep you all happy :**

**Mitsunari finally appears.**

**Gang names finalised: Ruby Claws, Sapphire Scales, Gold Suns, Silver Blades, and Iyo Demons. Saica, Keiji, Fuma, Oichi and Motonari are independents.**

**What kinds of vehicles do you think everyone drives? Suggestions get a preview of the next chapter~**

**Full Title: Squabbling Like Cats and Foxes**

* * *

Mitsunari Ishida placed the three-hundred and twenty-seventh report that he had edited on the Out Box on the right of his table. His left reached for the next report to edit.

Ever since that day, Mitsunari had gone and found a job in the place with the most information flow. A newspaper company.

The Toyotomi Clan – which was primarily the combination of the Silver Blades, the Gold Suns and a few other gang minorities – had fallen apart after the murder of the boss. The investigation had turned up nothing but Hanbei's fingerprints on everything and everyone dead.

No. Those investigators were all wrong, all on _his_ side.

Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Ieyasu had blinded those policemen with his lies and innocent talk. He must have. It was the only explanation. He didn't know why or what Ieyasu's goals were but Mitsunari was sure that Hanbei was just a stepping stone. Mitsunari was just waiting for the day when the policemen found the white-haired man's body floating face-down in a canal.

It _must_ have been Ieyasu.

The lasting image of the crime when he had rounded the corner after being tipped off that there was a coup happening always hung in the forefront of Mitsunari's mind. Hanbei was so flustered when he ran into Mitsunari in their shared apartment that night which was a shock of its own because Hanbei always made sure that he looked impeccable with every step he took.

Yoshitsugu had dragged him back and most likely prevented Mitsunari from saving Hideyoshi. If only he had left earlier or run faster, maybe Boss Hideyoshi would still be alive. The image of the Toyotomi Clan's leader bleeding out while Ieyasu crouched on the huge crates, streaked with blood hung before Mitsunari's eyes like a gruesome artwork.

Hanbei was loyal; after all, he was the one who had warned Mitsunari about Ieyasu in the first place. He would never have stabbed Hideyoshi in the back.

Right…?

A telephone rang, jolting Mitsunari out of his workless daze. Looking down, he saw that his neat writing had turned into an illegible scribble. His head spun.

"Everything's going to be alright." A man - Mitsunari didn't know nor cared who - walked past his In Box and dropped a stack of papers, taking the finished reports from the Out. Mitsunari hurriedly picked the bundle up and rifled through the papers, looking for what he knew was inside.

A tiny, clear packet filled with round, opaque pills slipped out from the between the papers and Mitsunari quickly shoved it into the pocket of his pants.

* * *

The day ended early and Mitsunari took the bus home. Scraping the border of the docklands, the apartment Yoshitsugu and he shared had a nice view of the river and was the only large, residential building in the area. It stuck up awkwardly among the squat factories and warehouses like a forgotten nail waiting to be hammered. The street door was bloated with the mist that often crept off West River during autumn and the white paint that covered the knobbly surface had greyed and flaked.

Inside was a little more decent. The paint was a different colour.

The stained walls were once a bright yellow but had slowly been bleached by the sun in one particular spot on the wall to a sickly off-white. Spray paint covered the rest of the surface in unintelligible scrawls.

The concrete stairs were sullied by various questionable substances but Mitsunari ignored them all and kicked the floor door open. It swung wildly and slammed against the wall on the other side. He ducked in before the door closed on the rebound.

Finding his keys, Mitsunari unlocked their door and firmly slammed it behind him.

"You're back." Yoshitsugu Otani trundled out on his wheelchair.

"Yeah. How was your day?" Mitsunari dumped his bag on the kitchen bench and gently touched the antique odachi displayed on the tiny cabinet in the hallway.

"Oh, interesting. Just sitting around, answering the phone and writing construction reports. There was a cat on your windowsill again." Yoshitsugu commented dryly.

"You never seem to be that happy about anything that happens, do you." Mitsunari half-joked as he loosened the tie around his neck.

"Hell will freeze over the day I am happy." Yoshitsugu grumbled right back.

"Huh… well I'm going to have a shower then go to bed. Just order pizza for dinner or something." Mitsunari started unbuttoning the stiff, white business shirt he wore as Yoshitsugu wheeled off, trailing a bandage.

"Hold on, you've got a bandage loose." Mitsunari walked over and deftly tucked the white linen away. Mitsunari gently touched his friend's wrapped flesh. If it weren't for Hideyoshi, Yoshitsugu would have died from loneliness in the hospital.

"No pain at all?" the pale-haired man brushed his friend's shoulder.

Yoshitsugu's lips curved upwards into a smile through the bandages that covered his face. "None. Now go relax and get some sleep. You have a war meeting to get to tonight."

Mitsunari nodded though a little niggling sense of worry remained in his heart and he undressed, and then showered.

There was a little cat on the flower box outside the window of Mitsunari's bedroom. The box was barren of life save for the feline scratching the dry soil.

Mitsunari stared at the cat.

The cat stared back.

_Mrow…_

Mitsunari sighed and lifted the window. The cat slunk in and landed on his carpet with a soft thump.

It was mostly brown with a snowy belly and socks. Tufty, white fur stuck up around its forehead and chest.

"We're not allowed pets," Mitsunari said to the cat as it rubbed its matted fur plaintively against his ankle. "Do you want us to be evicted?"

The cat meowed in response.

Mitsunari sighed, he _must_ be tired – he was talking to a cat, after all.

Leaving the small feline to its own devices, Mitsunari crawled into bed. The window had no curtain so the room was bathed in midday light – harsh and annoying.

"Go away, sun…" muttered Mitsunari as he rolled on his side to escape the brightness.

The next time Mitsunari opened his eyes, the light had changed. A pink-fingered evening had spread across the sky, staining it orange – still way too early. A soft pad patted his temple.

Turning his head a little, he saw the cat – it was closer to a kitten, really – peer down at Mitsunari from atop his shoulder and mewl in a rather annoyed tone. Rolling onto his front, Mitsunari dislodged the cat from its place and gathered the sheets closer around himself.

"Mrowr!" wailed the cat and it clawed Mitsunari's hair.

Mitsunari groaned and shoved the bundle of fur to the other side of his bed.

The cat pounced and exacted its revenge on Mitsunari's bare neck.

"OW!" Mitsunari jolted upright, hand cupping the light scratches over his jugular. If nothing, the cat seemed rather pleased.

"You little…!" The cat sped off the bed as Mitsunari made a grab for it.

"Are you alright in there?" Yoshitsugu opened his door and the kitten shot over and leapt onto Otani's lap.

"You let the cat in? You do know we'll get evicted if the landlord finds out."

Mitsunari rubbed a hand over his face, letting the sudden throbbing in his head die down. As Mitsunari came to terms with waking much earlier than usual, which consisted of flopping back on his bed and covering his head with a cushion with a loud groan, Yoshitsugu did the logical thing and checked the cat's collar.

"Someone owns this cat." Yoshitsugu gently stroked the kitten's ears as it mewled demurely in his lap.

Mitsunari just grunted from beneath his pillow.

Yoshitsugu rolled his eyes and backed out enough to close Mitsunari's door.

Now to find this 'Keiji Maeda'.

* * *

The sky was a silky black when Mitsunari awoke, head under pillow.

The blankets were cold.

Good, he hadn't moved in his sleep. Mitsunari slid out of bed, smoothing the blankets back into shape with deft movements.

Yoshitsugu was out for dinner, said the note on the table. Down the lift and out all by himself on his wheelchair. Mitsunari tossed the note back onto the kitchen bench and returned to his room.

Opening his cupboard, Mitsunari took the tin box from the top of the dresser. Clambering onto the top of the squat bedside table, Mitsunari reached up over the top of the wardrobe and felt around for the box. The drawer wobbled dangerously but Mitsunari found what he was looking for and leapt off the wooden cabinet to safety.

Opening the tin box with a near-reverent flourish, Mitsunari retrieved the packet of pills from his trousers and emptied them in with a satisfying clatter.

Mitsunari dressed properly and took an opaque pill and swallowed it with a quick gulp of water. Almost immediately the world snapped back into focus: colours were remastered, planes and angles became sharp and there was an excited thrumming in his veins.

Mitsunari turned sharply and grabbed the Silver Blades coat from his room, his hip crashed into the plastic kitchen bench but he paid the pain no heed.

* * *

Smog filled the grimy streets near the docklands. It was an ugly place: weeds choked every crack, the mist that came off the river had stained every surface a grimy grey and the huge warehouses spouted spindly cranes that reached to the bleak sky like twisted, shadowy fingers.

Mitsunari's footsteps were muffled by the heavy air and his breath frosted before his face in sparkling clouds. Stopping in front of a certain warehouse, he banged on the huge door once. After a moment of silence, the rusting door creaked open. Inside was a small crowd of just over a hundred wearing Silver Blade jackets.

A soft murmur rippled through the crowd as they parted when Mitsunari made his way to the tower of crates at the rear of the storage space.

"You're late." A boy stood surrounded by Silver Blades, casual in a red hoodie with a gold coin design on the front. The jacket was zipped up against the cold and the dark hood shadowed the eyes that glared out from beneath. He was about the same height as Mitsunari.

"You're the representative from the Ruby Claws?" Mitsunari asked. The boy shrugged nonchalantly.

"Do you see any other Ruby Claw around?"

Mitsunari ignored the direct jibe and rolled up his left sleeve. On the white flesh were two stripes of shiny scar tissue in the shape of a cross; one long line that split his forearm in half and the other perpendicular just below the creases in his wrist.

Tiger-boy did the same, revealing a similar mark though a bit shorter and fresher. Both warily reaching into their pockets, Mitsunari and the Ruby Claw representative each drew a switchblade knife. Reaching over to the other's arm, they sliced parallel with the wrist.

Pain blossomed like the blood that spilled from the wounds. Mitsunari's teeth clicked together audibly, more in shock than pain. The cut was deep but at least the pain-killer drug still worked. He saw the Ruby Claw's representative grimace but he made no sound. They grasped the other's bleeding forearm, coating their wrists with blood that mingled upon their skin then dropped to the bleach-white concrete floor.

"No trouble on our territory." Growled Mitsunari.

"No attacks on our members." Returned the representative, voice as soft as Mitsunari's.

A light pounding started in Mitsunari's head. "All tactics will be made known."

"Business will not be shared." The representative's arm trembled with strain in Mitsunari's grip.

They traded blades then released the other's arm.

The Ruby Claw member released a slow breath and the tension within him seemed to dissipate though he held his arm close to his side.

"Silver Blades and the Ruby Claws are now allies. I trust that you will honour our agreement." Mitsunari could only dimly feel the blood from his slit wrist drip over his hand.

The representative nodded once and lowered his hood. A ripple of shocked murmurs ran through the witnesses present.

_No, it couldn't be…_

_He really exists!_

_I thought he was dead._

_No, you idiot! That's why they call him the Deadman Assassin._

_But he's so creepy…_

_This is good: we've got the strongest gang member in Sakigahara City on our side now as well as the next biggest gang. _

The man in the kitsune mask smirked and bowed once, then turned and walked into the inky darkness of the night.

Tenko Kamen, the feared Deadman of the Ruby Claws.

* * *

**Reviews are like Yumekichi to Keiji.**

**Sorry for this being so short;;;**


	6. Troubled Men Can't Be Choosers

**Love, the Cassette Tape**

**Sorry it's a little late. Chapter for you all to keep you happy. :)**

**Really, I'm getting no reviews at all. I was sad the first time I got no reviews in the last chapter but really, this is just getting depressing. REVIEW PLEASE. See? I'm even tacking 'please' on. I'm just about as polite as Masamune, okay.**

**Badly OOC. Masamune is much too humanitarian in this story.**

**Full Title: Troubled Men Can't Be Choosers**

* * *

One night, Motochika suddenly remembered a certain friend that lived on the eastern side of town.

"Hey, Masamune!" Motochika waved over his eye patched friend from the window.

"I've just remembered a guy who could probably get you a job." Masamune's eyebrows rose.

"You've _just_ remembered?"

Motochika paused. So what if it took him over a week to remember a job connection.

"Anyway, I can introduce you in the morning." Masamune considered the offer, tapping a finger against his cheekbone as he leant against the counter.

"Ah, **why not**?" He finally said. Motochika nodded and Masamune returned to his sofa to think about what to do the next morning.

The night faded to dawn and Motochika woke Masamune. Motonari locked up behind them as Oichi listlessly wandered off.

"Chosokabe-kun," the larger man eagerly turned. Did Mori just voluntarily talk to him?

"The bar's closed for the weekend and Monday." So it _wasn't _voluntary.

"Huh? Isn't the weekend the busiest time?"

"I have business to attend to elsewhere so you have time off." And with no further explanation, Mori walked off into the dark pre-dawn.

Masamune and Motochika walked down the same road, passing the alleyway where they had been jumped on the first day.

"So, about this job offer?" While the Date family was rolling in money, Masamune himself had nothing on him since he had decided that taking credit cards back to Sakigahara City would just result in them being cancelled by his good-for-nothing mother.

"Yeah, I have a good childhood friend who's just finished high school," Motochika grinned, reminiscing about the incident a year before. "He runs a delivery service with a couple of his friends."

"Huh… Can you take me to him later today?"

"No."

"WHAT?! WHY?"

"Because, I'm going to use this lovely opportunity to sleep in."

"**Are you kidding me**?" Masamune threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Didn't you say that you were going to introduce us in the morning?"

"No. Well, yes. More like tomorrow morning."

Masamune whirled on him and pinned Motochika with a glare.

"Well, he's not open on Fridays anyway!"

Masamune suppressed the urge to throttle his friend.

* * *

Masamune left Motochika in his apartment, sleeping soundly in bed. They finally had made a key for Masamune, though if there was a job available it would become redundant in a few weeks.

Masamune made his way to the Kai Café, shivering slightly in his blue coat. His hand clutched the collar in an effort to stop the uncharacteristic chill of autumn from getting in.

_I should probably go buy some new clothes,_ Masamune thought to himself as he pushed the bright red door open, bell tinkling gently.

"Masamune Date!" Yukimura bounded up to his eye patched friend with a sunny smile on his face.

"Hi, Yukimura. Can I have some coffee this time?" Masamune released his collar and rubbed his hands briskly as Yukimura jotted the order down on his pad.

Yukimura took off for the counter as Masamune sat on one of the more comfortable seats inside with a good view of the counter and outside. As Masamune waited for his order, he realised that in contrary to Motonari – who had an excellent sense in ambient tunes – Shingen had no taste in music whatsoever.

A speaker in the opposite corner over the counter was blaring a song about tigers and their eyes.

Masamune slapped a hand over his own eye, thinking that he really should have expected this.

"Here's your coffee, Masamune Date," Yukimura set a cup of steaming drink on the table before him, two sticks of sugar on the saucer along with a spoon. "Don't worry, Shingen made this one."

Masamune muttered his thanks as Yukimura walked off to take some other orders.

The day wore on and Masamune's cup emptied as the leftover magazine's pages turned. Yukimura would occasionally walk by and chat while Sasuke shot cold looks at Masamune from the coffee machine.

"I'm on break now, Masamune." Yukimura had ditched the black apron and sat opposite to his eye-patched friend.

Masamune tossed his novel onto the coffee table and rested his elbows on his knees. "That's great… but aren't you going to go do something with Sasuke like usual?"

Yukimura shook his head a little sadly. "No, he told me this morning that he needed to do something during his break," Yukimura stared balefully into Masamune's empty coffee cup.

"Did I do something wrong, Masamune?" Masamune suppressed the urge to laugh at Yukimura's despondent face.

"Nah, he's probably chasing a girl or something," Masamune ruffled Yukimura's messy hair.

"How about you come with me to the shops?" Yukimura blinked. Judging by Masamune's strained it-just-came-out-of-my-mouth-but-I'll-pretend-it-was-on-purpose expression, he was just as surprised by the offer.

"Like… a date?" Yukimura asked slowly.

Masamune wondered if Sasuke could push him off a bridge somewhere.

Fighting the heated flush that crawled up his neck, Masamune floundered for words.

"Well, um… Not quite but, yes, no… maybe?"

Yukimura smiled brightly, head propped up by an elbow on his knee. "Okay then!"

Huh…?

Thank God Motochika wasn't there, otherwise he would never have let Masamune live that moment down.

Once Masamune and Yukimura had collected their necessary belongings, the former had to admit that he had no idea where the closest shopping complex was. Yukimura had taken that into stride and the two were walking down a main road, the occasional car puttering past.

They had chatted about nonsensical things (like Motochika's behaviour) to deep and philosophical topics (like the mixing of candied lemon and chocolate with ice cream).

"So what do you need to get?" Yukimura asked as they entered the six-floor building that leaked heating and noise. Masamune thought to himself.

_A winter coat for sure, a couple of shirts and pants, socks, underwear… but I'd rather get that myself._ Masamune counted out his clothing items and Yukimura immediately took off for the nearest clothing store before Masamune could catch up and stop him.

They bought some simple shirts, a pair of jeans and some socks without any problem but the winter coat was a problem.

Masamune was picky about his coats.

They walked the entire complex, looking for a suitable winter coat for Masamune but none caught his eye though many, Yukimura thought, would look very good on the eye-patched man anyway.

"It's alright, Yukimura. I don't need all these things straight away; I can just borrow Motochika's stuff for the time being." Masamune smiled at Yukimura and he finally conceded that he couldn't force Masamune to buy anything anyway.

Just as they were walking down the last escalator to the exit, Yukimura's phone rang.

"Yes?" Yukimura's face creased into a worried frown. "Now? But there is only Sasuke and I left."

Another longer pause.

"But we can't ask them to help us!" Masamune dimly heard a 'YUKIMURA, YOU FOOL!' and figured that it was Shingen who was calling.

"What's the matter?" Masamune asked and Yukimura put a hand over the phone's speaker.

"Ichi just called in sick again and Kasuga is in the middle of her college exams. Shingen is at the café by himself and he told me that Sasuke is five minutes away."

Masamune checked his watch. Lunch Hour: extremely busy time for the Kai Café.

"I can help. So can Motochika if I call him." Yukimura started and began waving his hands around in an amusing no-that-would-be-disgraceful-of-us-if-we-asked-a-customer fashion until Masamune got bored and walked off in the direction of Kai Café.

Masamune only had to call Motochika twice before his fellow eye-patch wearing friend answered in a weary pine.

"Yeah, save your whining for later. Shingen's run out of workers for their lunch run so he needs our help," Masamune angled his phone speaker away from his mouth to shush his frantic friend.

"Yukimura, if I hear another word out of you about how I can't work, I'll still work."

"But Masamune, I cannot allow a customer to assist us! It would be shameful."

"Oh, shut up already."

'_Masa? You still there?' _Motochika's voice crackled through the phone

"Don't call me Masa, Princess," Masamune growled. "Just meet us at the Kai Café, alright?"

Masamune flipped the phone closed, cutting off the audible 'hey!' from within.

When Masamune and Yukimura arrived at the Kai Café, the first problem they noticed was the lines.

Kai Café was famous for having quick service.

_Maybe that was due to the apparent excess in ninjas that work here,_ Masamune thought as he pushed his way inside and behind the counter, dumping his shopping in a closet.

The second predicament the two spotted was that Shingen was working for three people and thus, had left many orders undone and hence, had left a sandwich to toast for too long. Yukimura wisely pounced on the toaster and extricated the bubbling mess from the metal plates as Masamune grabbed an apron and took the next order.

Shingen took a moment to place a weary but thankful hand on Masamune's shoulder as he heated the milk for several cups of coffee. His face tight and worn, Shingen managed a smile before pouring out the milk and serving the customers.

Yukimura finished wrapping a new set of sandwiches for a businessman who muttered his thanks then bumped into a rather large, white-haired pirate wannabe. The man gave Motochika one glance then hurried out of the café.

"Hey, I heard you needed help." Masamune tossed an apron over the counter along with a pad and pen without a word.

It turned out that Masamune was surprisingly good at monetary exchange. Despite not paying any attention in the least during school, Masamune easily handed out change and food and drinks without batting an eye.

Until Sasuke appeared.

"Why are you working?" Masamune flinched, nearly dropping the three dollars and twenty-five cents change back into the cashier.

"Will you give me some warning before you pop out of nowhere?!" Masamune snapped and Sasuke pinned him with a cold gaze, figuring that Masamune was no longer going to give an answer.

"No." And Sasuke squeezed through the crowd to seat a few people.

Masamune watched through the glass walls and tracked the movements of his new and unexpected co-workers.

Motochika, while he visually frightened most customers, had the particular charm that came with years of bartending that allowed him to break the ice with people with a few words and a smile. That, and compounded with the uncanny ability to attract children.

Yukimura was not much different. He was amicable and clearly a favourite with regulars and new people alike. With a single look, he could suggest the kinds of food each customer appeared to like and also seemed to have at least one kid trailing him with interest.

Sasuke was the epitome of a waiter: there when you needed one and gone the next moment only to return with orders. He and Kasuga were probably the reason why Kai Café was so quick with service. Sasuke also doubled as the barista and kitchen hand.

Shingen was the main cook and barista though when he was needed, he tended the cashier. Huge and imposing, Masamune couldn't imagine Takeda squeezing through the metal maze of chairs, tables and space heaters without breaking something. This was probably why the man had his employees do all the walking instead.

Masamune was content with just standing at the till and taking payments. It allowed him to keep track of Yukimura, Motochika and Sasuke.

The afternoon passed quickly but the stream of customers eventually slowed as night fell. The last customer left a little after the sun set and the workers all began their clean up.

Motochika and Masamune collapsed into seats with matching sighs.

Yukimura laughed briefly at their tired faces and returned to his work of washing plates.

"I don't think we've had this much work in ages!" Yukimura chattered to Sasuke who brought back a stack of plates and placed them on his brother's left.

Sasuke nodded gently and focused on his work, mind elsewhere. Yukimura, however, was happy to fill the silence on his brother's part with nonsensical things as Shingen slowly went around the café, turning things off.

"Thanks for your work, you two. I don't think we would have managed with just the three of us today." Shingen sat next to Motochika and Masamune, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face.

"Nah, we're fine. The bar isn't open tonight so I figured I may as well help out since there's nothing left to do." Motochika and Shingen chatted while Masamune got back up to count the money in the cashier.

"Whoops," Masamune swiftly dodged around the stack of dried plates that Sasuke nearly swung into him. Sasuke started, his reactions uncharacteristically slow as Masamune stared suspiciously at the ninja's wrist. "Did you cut yourself?"

"Hm?" Sasuke looked down at his hand, the edge of a bandage peeking out from under the sleeve of the black shirt he was wearing.

"Oh, I just hurt myself while making dinner last night and I didn't get a lot of sleep." Masamune fixed the russet-haired man with a flat stare. The elder of the Takeda wards did seem a little lethargic, though that could just be down to a long and hard day of work.

Sasuke shrugged and stepped around the other man and continued with work. The café was quiet for a few minutes save for the occasional clink of plates scraping together and the rhythmic clicking of coins as Masamune counted them all.

"You can take a rest now, Yukimura." Nodding brightly, Yukimura folded away his apron and joined Motochika and his foster father at the table with the last of one of the cakes in the display cabinet.

"Hey… Masamune." Masamune stopped at seven-hundred and eighty-two dollars and sixty-five cents and tilted a curious ear to Sasuke, silently allowing the tattooed man his attention.

"What do you think of Yukimura?" Sasuke stared at his glass, absently rubbing it with a cloth. Though he kept a straight face, underneath his façade was worried tension and an almost overbearing sense of protectiveness over the boy in question.

Masamune paused to think. Yukimura was…

"Almost unbearably sweet," Masamune muttered out loud, ignoring the surprised splutter from Sasuke. "He's like an overgrown child sometimes, but he's honest and a good person. He's by far, much too good for me."

Sasuke stood behind the counter next to Masamune Date, cup forgotten in his hands. Did that noisy, eye-patched bastard (who had caused nothing but a headache for Sasuke ever since he came into his life) just admit to him that naïve little Yukimura was too good for him?

Even as the conversation outside of the kitchen escalated to a full-blown argument that started over a slice of cake, Sasuke tuned it all out as he bent down to put away the plates.

Perhaps Masamune Date wasn't quite as bad as Sasuke had assumed.

"Stop tickling me, Motochika!" laughed Yukimura as he leapt out of his seat; closely followed by said tickle pirate himself and they gallivanted around the closed café.

"Oi! Stop running around, and** having a party** before you break something!" Masamune yelled from over the counter, totals completely forgotten.

"Sarutobi, stop them please." Groaned Shingen, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose with exhaustion.

The copper-haired man nodded once and took off from his crouching position. Almost immediately, his head swam and Sasuke stumbled, tumbling to the floor.

"Sasuke!" Masamune strode over to the tattooed man in alarm and was bowled over by a puff of brown, fluffy hair. The back of Masamune's head struck the wood floor hard, causing stars to burst before his eye as several heavy weights pressed down from atop him.

The eye-patched man groaned – a coppery taste filled his mouth.

Yukimura whimpered in shock, hand cupping his mouth as Motochika – who had landed on all of them and was currently chortling merrily – gave everyone a hand up.

"Yukimura! Are you okay?" Sasuke scrambled up unsteadily but gently lifted Yukimura's hand away from his mouth. "Did you knock out a tooth?"

Yukimura shook his head in a negative but continued to prod every tooth with a tongue, just to check if there really was blood coming from anywhere within his mouth, then ran his tongue over his numb lip. "I am not injured but I taste blood."

"Masamune, you hurt?" Motochika looked curiously at the pained expression on his friend's face.

"… I think I bit my tongue."

Both Sasuke and Motochika's head swivelled from Masamune to Yukimura, slowly putting the pieces together.

"You…" The expression on Sasuke's face was terrifying to say the least.

And so, they ended their evening with Sasuke chasing Masamune and Motochika around with an egg ring and a cookie cutter in each hand, screaming bloody murder as Yukimura and Shingen had a shouting match inside.

A light vibration buzzed in Masamune's pocket and he struggled to pull out his phone while jumping over a stool. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke seemed to have mastered parkour at some point and was easily gaining on the two eye-patch buddies. Motochika had already been hit with a cookie cutter in his unusable eye.

Flipping the cover open, Masamune skipped his usual process of checking on who was calling him.

"Hello? I'm kind of in the middle of something and it means egg ring death if I fail."

The person on the other side paused momentarily, as if taking the strange greeting into stride.

'_Masamune, sir.'_

Masamune stopped dead, even when a metal circle for cooking eggs bounced off his head.

'_Your father has just tasked me with your care. I suspect that you have been staying with Mr Chosokabe but your father has already made arrangements for you living in Sakigahara City.'_ That voice was so familiar… And even all the way in the city, he'd follow Masamune as a spy, jailer and caretaker rolled into one.

"Kojuro?" Masamune whispered, eyes unseeing with shock.

'_Yes, Masamune. I'll be arriving tomorrow. Good night.'_

And the line cut.

* * *

**Cliffhanger~**


	7. Of Reminiscence and Sleepdrool

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Okay, there was a review this time. C:**

**First, to nekolais: Thank you for your review, you were the first one in about a month (haha;;) I'm probably happy with a review in any language xD And yes, I'll keep up with the good work! Here's another chapter for you.**

**Sorry this was behind update time though. On another note, it was Masamune Date's birthday two days ago! Happy Birthdayyyy! xD**

**Half of this chapter basically ended up a spam of Keiji and Fuma and how they met Ieyasu. Damn it.**

**[edit: for the proper formatting and stuff. Sorry people.]**

**Full Title: Of Reminiscence and Sleep-drool**

* * *

"So… You're moving out then." Motochika swilled the contents of his hot chocolate. Masamune just stared at his in the light-purple cup. It was around two in the morning.

Masamune had stood silent after the phone call in Kai Café with the strangest expression on his face (which, on a normal person, would be called 'fear' but this was _Masamune Date_) and if that didn't shock Motochika enough, the brunet suddenly left with only a few terse words.

'**Sorry**, but I need to go now.' He had said and then walked out of the shop with a brief and almost wistful gaze at Yukimura.

The Takeda family didn't know it, but Motochika knew that when he spoke English, Masamune meant what he said with all his heart.

Motochika had found his fellow eye-patch friend standing at the end of the block, head upturned, just staring at the overcast sky. Having dealt with more than his fair share of traumatised and troubled peoples, Motochika knew exactly what to do.

'Let's go home.'

So, they sat in Motochika's kitchen. Masamune gazed forlornly into his hot chocolate and Motochika patiently waited for his friend to talk, because he knew him well enough to know that Masamune will speak when he wanted.

"Will you introduce me to your friend tomorrow?" Masamune's voice was soft but firm.

"Today," Motochika corrected. "Sure, Ieyasu will be happy to have another person working with him."

"What does he do anyway?" Masamune toyed with the handle of the mug.

"He's started up a delivery business a couple of years ago, so probably delivering stuff to people."

"Oh."

_It beats being stuck with Kojuro all day,_ thought Masamune.

Morning came after a night of fitful sleep for Masamune. They took a taxi from the main road and travelled all the way to the east side of the city, between the two eastern rivers. Masamune stared listlessly out of the window as they weaved in and out of traffic. They crossed over a bridge and the weak sunlight glistened off the shallow canal water that rushed under the metal crossing.

A small bunch of wilting pink sweetpeas was taped to the middle bridge support.

Motochika leaned over to say into Masamune's ear, "Did you know that the bridges in Sakigahara City are popular spots for suicides because it's guaranteed that you'd either die from the fall or drown in the canal?"

Masamune fixed his snowy-haired friend with a baleful stare, as if to ask 'why should I care?'

Motochika's expression became crestfallen and he started to poke at Masamune to cheer himself up and, predictably, Masamune retaliated in similar kind. Their tomfoolery was cut short by the taxi driver who threatened to kick the two of them out two blocks before their destination.

"Yeah, we'll walk the rest of the way." Motochika handed the driver some money and waited for his change while Masamune stretched outside to release the tension in his muscles.

"I think we just pissed off one taxi driver in this city." Masamune muttered as they watched the cab merge into traffic and turn a corner.

"Yeah, well he didn't exactly take the quickest possible route to Ieyasu's place anyway." Motochika grinned back as they walked the two blocks to a small storage shed that was dwarfed by huge enterprise buildings and looked very much grey and shrunken in comparison. In the front was a fading, yellow sign that said 'Mikawa Delivery Service' in peeling letters.

A broad-shouldered man with brunet hair swept back into a ponytail stepped out of the shop, a box under one arm and a worried expression on his face. Upon seeing Motochika, the man brightened immediately.

"Heya, Keiji!" Motochika crowed and the man dropped his box, uncaring of what lay inside, and greeted him in a similar manner.

"Masamune, this is Keiji," Motochika waved over his eye-patch buddy and watched as the other two shook hands in greeting. "Kei, do you think 'Yasu's got another work spot open?"

Keiji stopped to think, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess so since Fuma left a while ago… Ah! Speaking of which, I need to get going, my delivery is kind of urgent."

Keiji picked his box back up and they all bid their farewells. Motochika and Masamune continued into the store.

The store itself, despite the shabby appearance, was quite clean and ordered. Pads of flattened boxes of various sizes sat to the right and the counter was illuminated by the light that flooded in through the front windows. Behind the counter sat a boy a few years younger than Masamune, head covered with his yellow hoodie, forehead pressed into the ledger open before him. A pen hung precariously between his slack fingers.

Motochika reached over the front counter and gently shook the boy's shoulder.

"Hm-wha?" mumbled the boy and he looked up, hood sliding off his head and revealing dark hair that fluffed in several directions.

"Hey, nice nap?" Motochika leant on the counter as Ieyasu grinned sheepishly and discreetly wiped the sleep drool from his face with a sleeve.

"Hi, Motochika. Why're you in this side of town?" Ieyasu's gaze shifted from his childhood friend to the stranger beside him.

"This is Masamune Date. Do ya think you have space for another worker?" Masamune reached over the counter to shake Ieyasu's hand. Ieyasu was densely muscled compared to Masamune's slimmer build but their grips were firm.

"Yep, I can take another person. We've gotten a lot busier; I've had to get Tadakatsu to do some jobs as well," Ieyasu scrubbed at his face before pausing.

"Wait… like, Date Pharmaceuticals?" Masamune cast a quizzical look at Ieyasu then nodded.

"Yeah, but I've pretty much been disowned. Why?"

"Ah, nothing. I've been asked several times to deliver some of your company's stuff."

"It's not my company." Masamune said coldly and Ieyasu had the tact to change subject.

"S-sorry. So, do you have any vehicle you can use to carry stuff with?" Masamune paused.

"Uh… no."

Both Masamune and Ieyasu turned their gazes to Motochika.

"What?"

At that moment, Masamune's phone rang in his pocket. The smaller eye-patched man instinctively reached into the pocket to pick up the phone but hesitated.

_It's just Kojuro,_ thought Masamune. _There's no reason not to pick up the phone._

Yet Masamune's hand still hovered over the thin rectangle.

"Masa, just pick it up and get it over with." Murmured Motochika. Masamune spared him a weak, sour glance before pulling out the phone.

_Yep, that's Kojuro's number._

"Hello?" Masamune turned away as Motochika and Ieyasu chatted quietly behind him.

"Masamune, I've arrived and I am now at the place Mr Date has prepared." His caretaker's voice crackled through the speaker of the phone.

Masamune did not answer straight away. "What did you bring?"

"I've brought your clothes, my luggage and your motorbike."

"YES!" Masamune crowed. "**Thanks**, Kojuro."

Masamune flipped his phone shut and turned back to the startled pair behind him.

"When can I start?"

* * *

Ieyasu sat back with a sigh. Masamune and Motochika had left a good half hour ago and he still wasn't any further with the totals in the register. He considered whether sleeping on the register would be slightly more productive anyway.

The door opened with its familiar squeak and Keiji walked in.

"Hi." Keiji said and Ieyasu yawned in response.

"Have you seen Yumekichi? He didn't come home last night." Ieyasu mentally ran through all the possible places in which Keiji's pet kitten could have gone.

"He's probably out climbing a tree or scratching in someone's flower box again." Ieyasu stood and stretched, feeling the familiar heat of blood course back into the veins in his legs. "Anyway, we have a huge shipment to do this time."

Keiji nodded and followed his boss into the storage behind the tiny counter. The taller man still remembered the day when he was offered a job.

He had left his aunt and uncle, being abandoned by his parents as a child, on a trip in the middle of his school year.

His wanderlust had taken him.

Toshie, his uncle, was against his decision from the start and was worried for his more-than-ward. This was odd seeing as he was the one Keiji was closest to out of the family. Surprisingly, it was his wife and Keiji's older sister, Matsu, who convinced Toshie to let their young charge go.

"It doesn't matter what, just come back sometime, even if it is just for a meal and a place to sleep." Those were the last words of Toshie as Keiji took off on his bike on that bright spring morning to see the world outside of Kaga Village all those years ago.

If only the people of the world were as happy as Toshie and Matsu…

His first stop was Shuu-o Town. After all, it was famed for its great food and red-light district.

The town itself was nice and quiet where the local newspaper crew had trouble with their sales and the main attraction (if you weren't interested in the lower half of the city) was a small shrine that doubled as a tea house and cemetery that served the best hand-made dango around. There was the huge estate of the Date family at the edge of town, but they didn't have open tours anyway.

Sating himself with the sights and opportunities in Shuu-o Town, Keiji wandered further and ran into trouble with a certain old man and his silent charge.

"That darn Takeda!" croaked the man as his body was wracked with angered shakes.

Keiji approached carefully, asking if there was any assistance needed. The old man, quickly introducing himself as Ujimasa Hojo, began to recount his experience with this 'Shingen Takeda' and Keiji quickly lost interest. His only indication of listening was the occasional nod and 'uh-huh', but otherwise he watched the actions of the silent boy sitting on the ground, making tea.

"How'd you end up with this guy? What's your name? Where are you going?" Keiji finally snapped and ignored Hojo entirely, who did not seem to notice the lack in attention and continued on his rant. The smaller man paused in his brewing and fixed Keiji with an unseeable stare.

His eyes were hidden by his shock of bright red hair and he had matching vivid stripes tattooed into his face.

"Oh, he's Fuma Kotaro. He doesn't talk much. On the other hand…" Hojo waved a dismissive hand in Fuma's direction before continuing on his spiel.

Fuma handed Keiji a small cup of brewed tea and placed another within range of Ujimasa, then picked his own up to sip gently.

"You really don't talk that much, do you?"

Fuma's head tilted in Keiji's direction (he guessed the boy was looking at him), then pulled out a notepad. Fuma scribbled for a moment and then handed the brunet the paper.

'No. It's to discourage people like you and Hojo.'

Oh. Well…

Fuma's lips quirked into a ghost of a smile and took the notepad back.

'Where are you headed?'

Keiji read the message then said, "Anywhere I fancy. Care to join me?"

The brunet suspected that Fuma rolled his eyes at the question then pointed at Keiji's tea. There was a tiny flower petal drifting gently in the fragrant liquid.

"Good omen?"

A soft meow came from their feet and Keiji looked down to see a tiny cat pawing at his shoe.

"Meow?" Keiji grasped the feline around its skinny middle and lifted the bundle into his lap. The kitten eagerly stumbled around and stretched up to lap at the tea in Keiji's cup.

"Aw, aren't you a smart kitten. Good omen indeed, I think I'll keep you," Keiji gently rubbed the feline's matted, white and brown fur and the creature purred, rather pleased with the sudden attention.

Fuma scribbled something then dropped the finished paper into Keiji's lap, narrowly missing the newly adopted kitten which hissed in displeasure.

'Call it Yumekichi.'

"Fuma, you come up with _really_ cute names!"

Fuma and Keiji separated from their paths and met again a few days later in Sakigahara Town. The post office had called Keiji concerning a box from his aunt and uncle and somehow, Fuma was the one to deliver it. Keiji, upon receiving the gift, resolved to at least write back to his foster parents once in a while.

"Fuma! How'd you end up here?" Keiji took the box off his silent acquaintance and led him into the motel room he had booked for a few weeks. Fuma rubbed Yumekichi's head as the kitten passed by via shelf.

Fuma replied in his own fashion, scribbling his message on the pad next to the phone with the complementary pen.

'I found a job for a delivery company, but before it was body guarding for Matsunaga Hisahide.'

Keiji frowned. Hisahide rang a bell…

"Oh, you mean that politician dude who's been on the news lately?" Keiji took the clipboard from Fuma and scribbled his initials. Fuma gave a silent nod and took the finished papers, making for the door.

"Say, who's your employer? I've been thinking about getting a job that still lets me see different places and I think that a delivery boy would be pretty good." Fuma paused at the doorway and tossed a card with near practiced precision onto the nearby vanity (which couldn't be right because he hadn't been there long enough to practice tossing things onto dressers in the first place), then left without a word.

Keiji picked the egg-shell white rectangle up and in practical font above a phone number and address was 'Mikawa Delivery'.

Keiji called in the next day and was greeted by a giant of a man sitting behind the counter, staring blankly out of the window. The actual shop was a bit run down but Keiji could see that the space was well used and proved to be a very good playground for Yumekichi.

Keiji, trying to be as amicable as possible, struck up a rather one-sided conversation with the giant and after forty minutes of non-stop talk, Keiji was rather surprised that the man hadn't snapped and tried to kill him yet.

"Tadakatsu, I'm back so you don't have to watch the store anymo- hey, who's this?" The large man behind the counter turned and stared at a young man in a slightly rumpled school uniform.

"I'm Keiji Maeda," the soft meow from atop an ancient looking scale drew their attention. "And he's Yumekichi. I'm looking for a job that'll take me places."

Ieyasu shared a glance at Tadakatsu and the two shared a slightly one-sided conversation though the former seemed to understand what the other was saying despite the silence. Their sort-of conversation ended with Ieyasu exclaiming, "Don't look at me like that!" (Which Keiji found peculiar since throughout their entire exchange, not once did that largest man's expression change in the least) then turned to Keiji and somehow, hired him.

"I can't really pay you for a few weeks because you've come at a time where there's not that many deliveries to do," Ieyasu took Keiji and Yumekichi to the back store room and sat them on a few crates to talk. "I've considered taking any delivery request but I'm not sure if that's good for our reputation."

Keiji shrugged. "That's alright, I have enough money for a couple of months at least. All I need is a job that'll take me all over the place." Their conversation followed this kind of vein for a while before a certain silent red-head walked in.

"Hiya, Fuma!" Keiji cheerfully greeted the tattooed man and Ieyasu looked up in surprise.

"You two know each other?" Keiji turned and related the short story of their meeting and by this time, Yumekichi had found his way over to Ieyasu's lap and was pawing at his loosened school tie with fervour.

The sun had set when the three had returned outside where Tadakatsu still sat and stared out of the shop window. Ieyasu handed a key to Keiji and explained that it was for the orange bicycle locked out the back and that he was allowed to keep it and use it however he saw fit as long as he kept the maintenance up himself.

And thus, Keiji rode his new bike back to his hotel, Yumekichi clinging rather unamused to the inside of his coat.

* * *

**That's it. I think Ieyasu has gotten used to talking with unresponsive people because, seriously, his first two employees are mute.**

**[edit: wow, I hadn't realised how bad the formatting was...]**


	8. Azure Connection

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Thought I may as well update early for once.**

**Reviews should have been replied to (thank you for all the reviews too, people!) except for Rike-sama (idk but it seems like you've disabled PMs to your account) and Envine so I'll just reply here:**

**Rike-sama: Thank you so much for your compliments, it almost feels like I don't deserve it xD Thanks for the heads up about the bolding for Masamune's Engrish, I've fiddled with it so it's better. I try to fit as many people in as possible in cameos simply because I love every single one of them, but I can't have everyone as a major character (thus the cameos). I'm glad you like so much of my writing, too. Yumekichi… well, you'll see what happens later! Yes, I'll probably have to make this story AU because I wrote that chapter before watching the anime (I think I mentioned it in my author's note on that chapter). Anyway, I love a good ramble and I love how much you love the light-heartedness of my story. I'm sure you'll like the upcoming chapters~! Thanks for the review again. :) **

**Envine: I'm really happy that you like my story so much! The whole idea of posting chapters on Fanfiction is that people around the world can read it at their own pace, so don't worry about things like that. Yep, I got into the Basara fandom last year and I still haven't left it, and I love it when people go back to old fandoms. It gives writers a chance to get their story really popular even if it is an old fandom xD It's nice to know that there are people reading, even if they don't review, but that's alright because even if there are language problems, every review I get makes me really happy too and brightens my day just as much as my story brightening other peoples' lives. Anyway, here's your update ****(and your review isn't terrible! No review is terrible!) ****and thank you for your review, so much! :D**

**Full Title: Azure Connection**

* * *

Keiji reached up to his shoulder in order to pat Yumekichi then realised _again_ that the kitten was missing.

He let out a miserable sigh and hefted his box again.

The road that led up to the estate just outside of Sakigahara City was, according to the gate man who refused to take the delivery himself, vehicle-free. The owners of the massive mansion that sat brooding over the city like a fat toad were complete hippies. While Keiji wasn't an avid chop-down-all-the-trees-and-let-the-next-generation-worry-about-that kind of guy, he wasn't quite an eat-tofu-and-save-the-planet-from-evil-commercial-corporates advocate either.

Personally, he wondered why he couldn't use his bike to cycle up the light-peach grain driveway instead. At least he wasn't using petrol.

To pass the time, Keiji let his thoughts wander. While this was a dangerous thing to do (especially for Keiji because it had gotten him irrevocably lost on more than one occasion), it was a straight gravel road. How could he get lost?

So, Keiji cast his mind back to when Ieyasu told him about the day that Hideyoshi Toyotomi was betrayed.

Ieyasu's story was told on a late night during a school holiday. Keiji and Ieyasu sat inside the small storehouse behind the shop with a small string of faded, white light bulbs on above their heads. Keiji had picked up an old newspaper, the kind which one is handed near a busy train station at the end of the day, and was reading odd bits and pieces from it.

"Ooh, here's a good quote: Train announcer says, 'Good morning, sardines. I mean passengers.'" Ieyasu chuckled and continued to work slowly through the costs that came with running a delivery business that were recorded in the thick ledger as Keiji flipped a few pages to read some other things.

"Oh. It says that the information on the gang fallout a few months back have been released by the police." Keiji said in passing.

"Don't read it out, Keiji." The long-haired brunet looked up in surprise.

"W-why?" Ieyasu had shut the register with a snap and put it to the side, hands tiredly rubbing his eyes. It was times like these that Keiji thought that Ieyasu behaved remarkably like a raccoon.

"I was part of that whole thing, okay." Ieyasu finally said and he stood to put away the register.

Keiji let him go, knowing that he would just press the boy later on.

Ieyasu had been doing some growing during the holidays and the extra work from the delivery service was helping the boy get some exercise.

"It says that the fingerprints on the dead were of Hanbei Takenaka. Care to tell me who that is, then?" Keiji watched as Ieyasu flinched a little when he heard the name.

"Keiji, don't." Ieyasu warned.

"I'll keep reading, then." And Keiji opened his mouth to continue speaking. He was instantly winded by a shove in the chest.

"I said _don't_." Growled Ieyasu, completely different from his usual amicable self.

Keiji frowned. Perhaps he had gone a little too far. After all, what did he know about the whole event anyway?

Ieyasu seemed to wilt a little.

"I'll tell you, but don't tell anyone else."

And so, they sat behind a crate of rubber diapers in their store room as Ieyasu relayed his version of events of that night where he had left his best friend thinking he was a murderer.

"I just didn't know what to do," Ieyasu whispered more to himself rather than to Keiji. "I could have stayed and maybe I could have done something that prevented Hideyoshi from dying."

"But then you'd be disobeying his order, wouldn't you." Keiji simply stated and Ieyasu gave a dismal nod.

"I just wish I could have done something instead of run away."

They sat in silence for a while. Who knew that sweet Ieyasu would have had to make a hard decision to run instead of stay. Keiji knew for sure that he would never have been able to make a choice like Ieyasu – that was why he really loved his wanderlust.

But wanderlust was not the greatest of things. Keiji knew that he'd end up leaving Sakigahara City behind. While the troubles and baggage that always came with staying in one place for too long were left behind, he would also be leaving all the interesting people too.

Keiji gently rubbed Ieyasu's back between the shoulder blades and gave him a one-armed hug.

"Do you think about what could have happened if you had stayed instead?" The taller brunet asked quietly.

"All the time, Keiji. All the time."

* * *

Masamune and Kojuro's shared flat was modest and was more east than west, in the higher end of the city and farther away from his new friends. Trust the head of Date Pharmaceuticals to buy out an apartment in the best part of town.

The apartment was quiet and clean, walls white-washed and the left-over furniture minimal and practical. The hallway hid a large cupboard which Kojuro quickly filled with towels and extra sheets but still looked vastly empty compared to what was back in Shuu-o Town. Masamune's room was decently sized and already had a double bedframe inside with an empty mattress. The bathroom was next to Masamune's door. On the other side of the apartment was Kojuro's room which also happened to be the closest to the kitchen. The laundry was opposite the bathroom and the modest living room still had its television fixed to the wall.

"It's not that bad, Masamune." Kojuro said after his charge had finished checking out the place. Masamune paced around the flat like a caged beast and then turned to leave.

"Where'd you park Azure?" Masamune asked briefly before exiting, ignoring Kojuro's shouted warnings from the kitchen.

Masamune found his way to the underground garage and wandered over to the only covered motorbike. Flinging off the canvas cover, Masamune beheld the glistening black Harley Davidson motorbike and the shining chrome exhaust pipes.

"Oh, Azure. I've missed you so much!" Masamune cooed, not caring if he looked strange in the least.

The engine still growled in that familiar way when he turned the key and Masamune relished in the tumultuous roars as the engine's snarls filled the car park. Fishtailing briefly and leaving distinctive tyre marks on the floor, Masamune sped around concrete pillars and out into the bright sunlight.

Masamune's body memory took him around the city where his own mind had long forgotten the grimy streets. He relished in the adrenaline of riding his motorbike and the wind tugging wildly at his hair and loose jacket. A map with roads like neon lighting reformed in Masamune's mind and he soon found himself back in front of Motochika's apartment.

Parking Azure on the side of the road, Masamune cut the engine and nostalgically brushed the smooth, cool handle of his motorbike.

"Whoa… that bike!" A passer-by had stopped and stared at Masamune and Azure. Masamune grinned proudly.

"Yep, she's my pride and joy. Had her since high school." Masamune fondly patted the dash of the vehicle. The man, however, narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Uwooohhhhhh!" Masamune started and looked accusingly at the man who was now trembling and pointing at him.

"Is that you, Boss Masamune?!" Masamune was a little taken back at the sudden question. He hadn't been called that in… What, four or five years?

A spark of recognition ignited in Masamune's eyes.

"Hey, weren't you one of those guys I beat up a few weeks ago?"

* * *

Masamune wondered how he didn't realise that man – Sapphire Scales gang member Yoshinao and mook he had beaten up exactly one month ago – was from his old bike group in high school. The pompadour really should have been a giveaway.

"So, fearless leader; how's it been?" Masamune and Yoshinao had begun walking aimlessly toward the city centre.

"Fine. Moved then came back. That's all," Masamune said nonchalantly. God, he was starting to sound like Shingen's ninja waiter. "What have you done since I've left?"

Yoshinao then launched into a long monologue about his life for the past few years as Masamune inevitably tuned out and paid more attention to the weather rather than his companion's story because, frankly, the clouds were much more interesting that several failed get-togethers with a certain unimportant woman.

"Is your number still the same?" Masamune slowly returned from his reverie and looked blankly at his old subordinate.

"Huh?"

"Is your phone number still the same?" Masamune paused then nodded.

"Oh, great. Anyway, our old hospital hideout hasn't been torn down yet. Please consider coming back to the Azure Dragons."

"Wait, I thought I told you guys that they were disbanded when I left." Masamune turned his steel glare onto his former (and probably future) subordinate.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, Kojuro did suggest that you never told us that we couldn't reassemble after you told us we were dissolved."

Masamune paused then erupted into fits of laughter. "Yeah, that's Kojuro!"

Masamune wiped away tears then bade Yoshinao goodbye and opened the door to the Kai Café.

"Masamune! I heard you moved." Yukimura bounded up, almost teary-eyed. "Why didn't you tell us that night? You could have stayed with Sasuke and I!"

Masamune chuckled and briefly looked around the café out of habit (because Sasuke had the uncanny ability to pop out of nowhere when he didn't need him). Surprisingly, the ninja wasn't around.

"I don't think your brother would have let me stay in your flat. Speaking of which, where is that monkey?" Yukimura blinked innocently then explained that Sasuke had errands to run.

"Sasuke could be out there already and making a living on his own. I don't know why he would stay with Father and me for this long." Yukimura mused as he seated Masamune outside. The weather was sunnier than usual and was almost warm out.

"Sasuke's your brother. He'd be a pretty bad excuse of one if he left you by yourself with your dad." Masamune said and reached over to ruffle Yukimura's hair. "You don't want to kick him out this soon, do you?"

Yukimura's face became clouded with anxiety. "Sasuke's just been weird lately. He's going out to places that I don't know and he doesn't even talk to Kasuga at every opportunity either."

Masamune paused. That really was weird if the ninja wasn't incessantly flirting (and failing) with the blonde in the café.

Masamune's phone buzzed and Yukimura walked off to take care of the new tenants. Holding the phone up to his ear, Masamune listened intently.

"Masamune, I've got some orders for you to deliver. Do you think you can come and pick them up now?" Ieyasu asked.

The eye-patched man flipped his phone shut and thanked Yukimura for the coffee and left. Checking his watch, Masamune strode down the street with ease. It was only just past eleven and Yukimura's break was in an hour where Kasuga and Ichi would replace Sasuke and him. Masamune figured that the delivery would take a little less than an hour – Sakigahara City was a pain on foot, but was fairly easy to traverse on a motorbike – and he soon found Azure and drove off to the eastern side of the town.

Keiji was with Ieyasu this time. Masamune could see the two pouring over the thick book behind the counter with interest. A truck was parked outside the shop window and the back was open, half-full with boxes of varying sizes. A very large man – he was almost twice Masamune's height and several times Ieyasu's bulk – sat on the back, stiffly rubbing his shoulder. The man stared at Masamune as he entered the shop, shooting a wary glance at the trucker.

"Masamune, that's Tadakatsu. He's my friend from high school and he drives the delivery truck for me." Ieyasu approached with a clipboard and handed it over, leading the eye-patched man to the counter. As Ieyasu explained the procedure for handing over goods, Keiji leant casually on the counter and absently rubbed his shoulder as if he were patting an animal instead.

Masamune briefly wondered if Keiji just had a nervous tick or really did miss some pet.

"Get it, Masamune?" Ieyasu cast a brief look up at Masamune before his eyes widened into what could be put as shock before Keiji hurriedly shoved the shorter man down behind the wall. Puzzled, Masamune looked down at a shocked Ieyasu and turned when he heard the bell tinkle at the front.

"Yumekichi!" cried Keiji and he leapt forward to catch a tiny bundle of fur that flew from the newcomer's lap. Masamune just stared, a little surprised at the man on the wheelchair that was stopped before the door.

Yoshitsugu looked up from his seated position at the entrance and wheeled himself in a little more. "Your hotel told me you would be here, Keiji Maeda." Yoshitsugu ground out and Keiji paused in his cat nuzzling and shook the bandaged hand with fervent gratitude. The bandaged man jolted in surprise at the touch and quickly withdrew his hand.

"I appreciate your thanks, but you would not want to come near me." The disease-stricken man said before wheeling out, ignoring Keiji's wailed thanks and the cat's copied loud yowling. Masamune grew tired of Keiji's melodramatics and returned to the counter.

"Ieyasu, he's gone now," Masamune called and Ieyasu straightened from his tense crouch and settled into the padded chair, shaking and pale. "Sure, he looks creepy, but why are you so scared of him? If you really were that discriminatory, I don't think you would have hired me."

Keiji joined Masamune at the counter, a troubled expression on his face. "Thanks for hiding me, Keiji." Ieyasu said, still trembling. Yumekichi the kitten jumped down and meowed at Ieyasu from atop the open register.

"Do you think he saw me?" Ieyasu asked the long-haired brunet and Masamune's eyebrow twitched. He'd been ignored.

"Nah, I'm sure I pushed you over before Yoshitsugu saw you. 'Sides, he didn't seem to react as if he just saw his best friend's murder target." Keiji's seriousness was getting to Masamune.

"Can you both just tell me what's going on?!" Masamune exploded and the other two looked over at him in alarm.

The shared a look and turned back to the eye-patched man.

"We can talk in the back," So Ieyasu led Masamune and Keiji to the store room and they perched themselves upon various boxes and crates. "It's a long story, so I figured we all may as well be sitting for it."

And Ieyasu began with that summer night five years ago…

Yoshitsugu pushed himself a little further away from the Mikawa Delivery Service and contemplated on how to break the news that Ieyasu Tokugawa was, in fact, much closer than Mitsunari Ishida thought.

* * *

**Drama!**

**The Yoshinao is that guy in the anime with the pompadour who's one of Masamune's 'distinguished mooks' as tvtropes puts it. Gah, so hard to find his damn name.**

**Sorry for it being so short this time, but I really wanted to finish it there.**

**Gets much darker (and hopefully better) from here. C:**


	9. In Sickness and Not-So-Sick

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Well, all reviews have been accounted for and answered (I think). If not, message me again and you'll receive profuse apologies. -_-;;**

**Also, my final exams (which determine where I go more or less after school) are in two weeks and continue for another five so that's seven weeks without Love the Cassette Tape. Sorry people, but ****there won't be an update after this until****Late November****. BUT there will be an ****extra update**** in the second part of November, just to make up for it as well as give me some time to finish writing some more chapters. Sorry it's going very slow, but it will be slow for a while. **

**But, trust me when I say that this story is entirely thought out and it's brilliant (if I do say so myself). It's just getting it down. No fears of lack of updates! There will always be two every month~**

**This chapter, you'll start to see some things falling into place. **

**So, drop a review to let me know what you think. **

**Full Title: In Sickness And Not-So-Sick**

* * *

"Ah, so it was you leading the Gold Suns." Masamune reclined easily over the crates and boxes that littered the store room of Mikawa Delivery Service. Ieyasu and Keiji looked at Masamune with surprise.

"I was the leader of the Sapphire Scales but we dissolved about four years ago," Yumekichi had slunk onto Masamune's lap and was batting at the bead bracelet around his left wrist. "I heard when you allied with the Silver Blades; you became the Toyotomi Clan under Hideyoshi."

Ieyasu blinked, casting his mind back. "Oh, yeah! You were the one allied with the Iyo Demons, weren't you?"

Masamune smiled, he found it strange how he was working for a kid who was the leader of an enemy gang four years after he had decided to wash his hands of the whole violent affair. The world was small, Masamune decided, and it went in circles.

"Anyway, didn't you say that you wanted me to deliver something?" Masamune asked and Ieyasu jumped and laughed sheepishly. The delivery turned out to be a box of plates for the Kai Café, much to Masamune's surprise.

"I told you we deliver lots of stuff so it's more than likely that you'd bump into old friends or deliver things to people you know," Ieyasu smiled and handed him the heavy box and the clipboard. "Come back here when you're done."

Masamune loaded his box of dishes onto his motorbike and sped off. _So Ieyasu was the leader of the Gold Suns,_ Masamune thought. _I'd better check what gangs are active now with Motochika._

A loud wailing of sirens jolted Masamune out of his reverie (which wasn't very smart in the first place since he was driving) and he glanced in one of the side mirrors to see a police car hailing him.

It suddenly occurred to Masamune that he probably should have been wearing a helmet.

Regardless, Masamune pulled over and the police car followed suit. A woman, smartly dressed in uniform, stepped out of the vehicle and fixed him with a fierce glare. Masamune, predictably, stared.

"Why were you driving without a helmet?" Magoichi Saica demanded as she neared the man on the motorbike. Her eyes narrowed when she saw his eye patch. Likewise, Masamune glared right back at the reaction to his appearance.

"I was on my way to buy one." He snapped. Magoichi sighed.

"No you weren't. You're on your way to deliver something to the Kai Café on the west side of town." Magoichi said and rubbed her temple in annoyance. Masamune just gaped.

"How'd you-"

"Your box clearly displays your destination and previous location," She pointed at said box strapped to the back of Masamune's motorbike. "I can't believe it. I'll talk to Ieyasu about this."

"You know Ieyasu?" Masamune asked out of curiosity.

"Yes. He was involved in a case I was working on a few years back," The policewoman sat on the edge of the pavement and patted the space next to her. "It was the Hanbei case. Most likely, Ieyasu's already told you about it."

Masamune dismounted from Azure and settled next to her. Magoichi Saica smelt of something bitter – perhaps a strange blend of coffee – and her shirt sported a small three-legged crow embroidered into the fabric in black thread.

"Actually, I was the one who suggested that he start up a delivery service in the first place." Magoichi stared wistfully up into the sky. "You never know what information you can find in a city like this and having a job that travels all over the place but also makes you invisible to the public eye is the best way to gather intel."

"What are you guys trying to find information on?" Masamune asked, still trying to wrap his head around Ieyasu' story and how it fit into context.

"We're trying to find Hanbei. He's the man who killed Hideyoshi Toyotomi and attempted to frame Ieyasu."

"Huh…" Masamune stared into the distance beside the policewoman and then stood, dusting himself off. "Well, I've got a delivery to do. I'll buy a helmet today, alright?"

Magoichi stood as well. "Okay. By the way, what's your name?"

Seeing Masamune's wary face, she laughed. "I'm not going to book you."

After a moment of deliberation, he stuck out his hand. "Masamune Date."

Taking the hand, she replied in the same fashion. "Magoichi Saica. Commander-in-chief of the police force."

Masamune's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Nevertheless, he shook the hand presented to him and drove off with a wave.

Magoichi Saica smiled after him, returning his wave then sat in the front seat of her car. Her face fell as she sank into her thoughts.

_Ieyasu has to be careful,_ she thought. _There were rumours that the gangs were getting violent again and that some mystery drug was beginning to make the rounds. If anything, there would be a mountain of paperwork to do if Hanbei really was back. After all, Hanbei was the trickiest kind of criminal._

If anything, Saica hated paperwork.

* * *

Masamune managed to reach the Kai Café without incident. Ichi was around the back to greet him. Trash littered the pavement behind the café and the murderous cat that lived in one of the bins hissed vehemently at Masamune as he walked past.

Masamune growled back.

"Dragon?" Ichi mumbled and Masamune's attention returned to the quiet woman. "May I sign the papers?"

Masamune handed over the clip board and Ichi flipped through the papers, signing where appropriate.

"Hey, Ichi," The woman looked up in curiosity. "Do you have a sister?"

Ichi slowly shook her head. "Why do you ask, Dragon?"

Masamune frowned. "It's because you look and act just like Oichi who works in the Aki Club at night."

Ichi cocked her head in puzzlement and nodded. "I am Oichi… and Oichi is me. But we are not the same."

_Split personalities?_ Masamune thought, and then shrugged. How did it really matter to him anyway?

"Alright. There's nothing wrong with it, I guess." Ichi frowned.

"But we haven't told Nagamasa. What would he think of us if we told him?" Ichi worried at her lip until Masamune patted her shoulder gently.

"Flower guy really loves you. He'll accept you regardless of any problem." Masamune said and Ichi looked up at him with a tiny spark of hope in her dark, fathomless eyes. "Take it from someone who watches."

_Though, even a blind person would be able to tell that those two liked each other. Only someone as dense as Yukimura wouldn't realise,_ thought Masamune.

The two entered the shop through the kitchen door. The kitchen was behind the wall to the rear of the counter though most of the time it sat unused. A large fridge hummed quietly in the corner.

Placing the box on one of the benches, Ichi systematically cut the tape off the box to reveal white plates that she carefully took outside and stacked in the sink for washing.

Masamune looked around and let his hands wander, touching all matter of odd kitchen utensils. Were any of them even used?

The sound of a tumultuous crash accompanied with a loud shriek of surprise echoed into the kitchen and was magnified by the surfaces in the room. A chill ran down Masamune's neck and he pushed through the swinging doors into the café.

Shingen was face down on the floor, unmoving. A shattered cup of coffee spilled messily over the floor where the man had dropped it.

Ichi stood nearby, hands at her mouth in shock. Customers were looking around in confusion, some standing to get a better look. Behind Ichi, Nagamasa pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance while he gathered Ichi into his arms as she broke down crying and apologising.

Sasuke rounded the corner next and stopped dead when he saw Takeda on the floor. Yukimura came next to see what was going on but Sasuke turned and pushed his younger brother back out of the shop.

"Go home." He said tersely to his beloved brother, ignoring his worried questions, before entering the shop again while flipping the sign on the door so it displayed 'Closed'.

The tenants of the café quickly got the message and left the establishment.

Masamune and Sasuke hauled Shingen's huge, unconscious body over to a padded booth and lay him there, Sasuke's coat rolled under his father's head for elevation.

"What happened?" Masamune asked. Normally, Sasuke would have just ignored the question but this was his foster father for sixteen years who was waiting for an ambulance (and _maybe_ just a little bit because of Masamune's uncharacteristically stern tone).

"I don't know. I was cleaning a table when it happened," Sasuke said in a voice that was almost a whisper. Masamune pushed the other into a seat and sat opposite to him. Sasuke's head snapped up to meet Masamune's eyes. He hoped that he wasn't placing his faith in the wrong person.

"Please… take care of Yukimura." Sasuke said.

Masamune did not hesitate. "**Okay.**"

Sasuke and Azai waited in the café for the ambulance. The worry that plagued Sasuke's heart was almost too much to bear and his empty stomach lurched along with the medical van as they traversed the streets of the city. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital and Shingen was wheeled away while Ichi disappeared with a nurse and Azai, Sasuke was left standing in the lobby feeling a little lost.

_Something to drink… that's what I should do,_ thought the elder Takeda ward and he searched for a vending machine. The thick, cloying smell of disinfectant was playing with his mind. The elder Takeda ward shook off his misgivings of standing in a hospital, focussing only on what had to be done now that Shingen was in. Sasuke rounded a corner and promptly bumped into a man, staggering backwards. He would have fallen flat on his back out of dizziness had not a strong hand grasped his upper arm and supported him.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke allowed his sense of balance to return before addressing the man who had prevented him from falling. Looking up he saw an older man, perhaps in his late thirties, hair neatly combed back and had a somewhat permanent expression of severity accentuated by the silver stripe of scar tissue down his left cheek.

"Yes, I apologise for walking into you." Sasuke stepped back, adopting the kind of vocabulary he usually reserved for customers. Kojuro Katakura shook his head and his mouth quirked into a light smile.

"No problem. You look like you're about to faint on the spot; sit down for a while." Kojuro said and he led Sasuke back into the waiting room. The elder of the two handed Sasuke an unopened bottle of water and Sasuke gratefully accepted the drink, struggling only slightly with the tight cap.

"So… why are you in the hospital?" Sasuke asked as he finished gulping water. The liquid cleared his head a little, allowing slightly more coherent thought.

The older man cocked his head a little and appraised Sasuke through his delicate-looking reading glasses. "Just a few check-ups and some paperwork. You?"

"My foster father just got admitted."

"Ah… He'll be fine, don't worry."

Sasuke nodded then stiffened.

_Oh my God. _

"I can't believe it," he murmured and the man next to him gave him a curious look. "What was I _thinking_?!"

"Is something wrong?" By this time, the entirety of the waiting room was staring at the tattooed boy having a minor panic attack.

"I left Yukimura with _Masamune_!" Sasuke wailed before bolting out of the hospital.

Kojuro raised a brow. What _exactly_ had Masamune been doing since he had moved?

* * *

Masamune had jumped on his motorbike and driven a few streets over to find Yukimura pacing anxiously up and down the sidewalk, hands wringing his apron. Masamune parked his bike and jogged over to his worried friend. When Yukimura saw Masamune approaching, Yukimura ran up to him, spouting an endless stream of questions.

"What's happening? Is everything alright? Did something happen to Shingen?" Masamune planted both his hands onto Yukimura's shoulders and he quietened.

"Your father will be fine. Sasuke is with him. You need to go home." Even to Masamune, his voice sounded odd and almost far away. The lingering image of Takeda sprawled on the floor flashed to the forefront of Masamune's mind before he pushed it away and led Yukimura to his motorbike.

"Masamune," Yukimura followed meekly behind, his face still pinched with worry. "Please, tell me what happened."

Masamune paused. Should he tell? Yukimura looked up to Shingen so much, even when he was punched daily for breaking a plate or something nonsensical like that.

"Shingen is being taken to hospital. I don't know why," Masamune raised his voice, silencing Yukimura's half-formed question. "We'll find out eventually."

Yukimura's face became crestfallen and his bottom lip quivered. Masamune sighed.

"Yukimura, can you take me to a helmet shop?" Masamune really did not want to see his tears today. Or ever. Besides, he may as well get a helmet for himself if that policewoman was still out there.

Yukimura looked up in puzzlement, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes then nodded slowly. They walked silently along the street, each absorbed with their own thoughts.

Masamune reasoned that the café would be closed for a while since Shingen was the one who really ran the place. Imagining Yukimura or Sasuke filling in for Shingen as well as themselves was, unironically, a space a little too large to fill.

Yukimura was examining Masamune's expression. Over time, Yukimura had discovered that any trifling matters were pushed completely to the side for Masamune, and that the eye-patched man focused solely upon the present. When Masamune did worry about something substantial, a small furrow developed between his eye brows and Yukimura enjoyed watching the subtle changes in his expression as his friend travelled through his thoughts, revealing his emotions in the process.

While the silence from Masamune and Sasuke were disconcerting, Yukimura trusted the both of them and had no choice but to wait since both of them (Yukimura had a sneaking suspicion) were just as stubborn as the other and would tell him the problem when the time came.

"We're here." Yukimura pushed open the door to a sports shop and let Masamune in first. They approached the shelf of motorcycle helmets on display in the middle of the shop and Masamune distractedly waved Yukimura away, telling him to go find one for himself.

Yukimura hesitated and watched Masamune absently browse the shelves and looked around himself.

"I want this one." Yukimura plucked a black helmet with flames painted up the side off a shelf at his eye level. Masamune glanced over and nodded then turned back to search for the perfect helmet that would complement Azure the most.

After twenty minutes of deliberation, Masamune decided to pick the cobalt helmet painted with tiny scales and a single yellow curve that circled around the top rather than the blue counterpart to Yukimura's. Masamune took Yukimura's helmet and walked to the cashier, addressing the bored youth behind it.

"Masa-"

"Yes, Yukimura, I can pay for it," Masamune pulled out the credit card in his wallet that Kojuro had brought back from Shuu-o Town and waved it at Yukimura with a grin before handing it over to the clerk.

"But Masamune, why are you buying them?" Yukimura followed Masamune out of the shop, still clutching his helmet. Masamune shot Yukimura a curious look.

"Obviously, I have a motorbike," he said clearly. "You don't seriously think I go buy motorcycle helmets just because I feel like it, do you?"

Yukimura thought of a Masamune in Shuu-o Town running around wearing a motorcycle helmet shouting English phrases for no apparent reason.

Yep, it was possible.

Masamune stopped by a dark blue motorbike with a lightning yellow stripe down the side and sat astride it. Yukimura then realised that they were back on the street where Masamune had found him before.

"Masamune," Yukimura hissed. "Why are you sitting on someone else's motorbike? If they come back and see you, they can say you are trying to steal their property!"

Masamune gave Yukimura a flat look and pulled out a set of keys and turned the ignition. The engine roared to life.

Oh.

Yukimura sheepishly pulled on his helmet and sat behind Masamune.

"Yukimura, you're gripping me too tight." Yukimura could barely hear Masamune's strained voice through the padded layers of the helmet.

"Sorry." Yukimura nervously loosened his hold and tucked his feet up and away from the back wheel. The engine growled and the motorbike shot forward and merged with traffic. Yukimura gave a rather high squeak and his grip tightened back around Masamune's waist.

Masamune choked and took a hand off the grip to try and pry loose Yukimura's vice grip. The traffic slowed and Azure stopped as well.

"Yukimura, you idiot! Stop trying to strangle me when I'm driving." Masamune snapped and Yukimura let go of the man in front of him.

"But if I fall…"

"You won't fall. _I'm_ driving so it's impossible," Masamune's voice became gentler and he patted Yukimura's knee which was the only part of him which he could properly reach. "Just trust me and we'll be home before you know it."

The light turned green and Masamune lifted his foot off the tarmac and drove off. The cold wind managed to get into every fold of loose clothing and before long, Yukimura's arms were frozen. The movement also flipped up his jacket to blow in the wind like Motochika's coat and that chilled his back as well. The only part that was warm was Yukimura's front which was pressed into the gentle curve of Masamune's back.

Upon closer inspection, Yukimura noticed that the coat Masamune was wearing was a proper winter coat. _I suppose his caretaker brought it with him this morning,_ Yukimura thought.

They slowed once more and Yukimura looked up to see a tall, white-washed building loom close. Yukimura recognised it as a building in the better part of town and dutifully followed Masamune into the building after he had parked the bike at the front.

Masamune unlocked their apartment door (thank god he remembered to take one of the keys with him) and let Yukimura in. The place was nice and large though it felt a little empty; the black leather armchair sat a little battered in the lounge room that connected to the tiny kitchen.

Yukimura's hands brushed along each surface that came near, as if to learn the foreign curves and angles of the furniture.

And there, on the coffee table hidden by the couch, was a long, dark machine.

"Is that a cassette player?"

* * *

**It's getting better. C:**


	10. You Have Me

**Love, The Cassette Tape**

**I'm procrastinating WAYYYY too much so I guess there will be an update for this chapter! Sorry for being on such an annoying hiatus. Exams just eat my life… Anyway, updates should go back to normal after this!**

**Full Title: You Have Me**

* * *

Yukimura's fingers brushed over the smooth plastic of the cassette player, memorising the old machine's form. Masamune walked beside Yukimura and pointed at the little engraving on the side. It read 'you'll never be lost or alone: you have me'.

"I added that engraving last year. My dad owned the cassette player before and he gave it to me when I was really little," he said. "That was before he began working from the hospital."

As he mentioned this, he felt the warmth that seeped from Yukimura. Heat radiated off the smaller brunet's skin as if it were from a heater or fire and Masamune fought the urge to hug the waiter.

Yukimura looked sharply at his eye-patched friend. "From the hospital?"

"Yeah," Masamune reluctantly stepped away from Yukimura's warmth, opened a cupboard and riffled through the drawers and managed to produce a worn tape which he gently slotted into the player. "My father has a sickness right now and the inheritance of the company is being debated. That's why I left because currently, it seems to be in the favour of my genius little brother." Masamune's face settled into a scowl as he spoke and pushed the tape slot closed a little harder than prescribed.

"I wanna." Said Yukimura, beating Masamune to the white play button and saving the poor cassette player from further misdirected anger. The button was pressed and the tiny plastic cogs in the tape started turning. A soft hiss of white noise came out of the speakers and a soft tune started up.

"I told myself that I wouldn't play this song again," Masamune said as he stood. Seeing the questioning look in Yukimura's eyes, he added, "It brings back memories, Yukimura."

"Why?" Yukimura asked and Masamune gave a small, cryptic smile and held out his hand.

"Do you know how to dance with a partner?" he asked and the waiter shook his head, looking at Masamune's hand like it was something exceedingly curious.

"I bet you don't," Yukimura said with a tone of slight triumph, then the proud demeanour fell to a slightly disappointed expression. "Besides, I can't dance."

Masamune chuckled and reached for Yukimura's hand. "Just follow my lead and you'll be fine. Just like on my motorbike."

Yukimura let out a small huff of amusement and got to his feet, taking the offered hand.

Masamune took Yukimura's left and placed it upon his shoulder, his own left hand taking Yukimura's right. Yukimura hesitated, expecting Masamune's hand to rest on his hip (which would definitely make him the girl) but the eye-patched man's hand held his back instead, supporting it with a cool hand.

Masamune stepped to the side and Yukimura followed easily, matching his friend's steps until he trod on the elder's foot.

"Ah! Sorry, Masamune." Yukimura released Masamune's hand and retracted his other as he struggled to regain his balance, face burning red with shame.

"Relax, Yukimura. You'll learn faster if we just dance without you thinking about the specific moves so it's alright to step on my feet." Masamune chuckled as he grasped Yukimura's hand again and repositioned his friend's other hand back on his shoulder.

Why was Yukimura so cute when he blushed?

_Wander freely, wander far, _

_Off beneath the Devil's star,_

_In the dark, the girl so bright, _

_Got up to see the day by night,_

_Her fear in hand, her fear in heart, _

_Her fear did tear her soul apart,_

"Whose voice is this?" Yukimura listened intently to the soft, high voice that sang the sad lyrics. Masamune smiled gently as he led Yukimura around the living room, the other not stumbling quite so much.

"Itsuki's. She was a girl I was friends with in Shuu-o Town. She was bullied a lot in school and was part of the group of misfits but they all really liked her and called themselves her 'fan club'," Masamune's face twisted into a sad expression. "She gave that tape to me one day, saying it was her goodbye and then a few days later she was hit by a car."

"I don't know if it was on purpose or not but she's dead now. Can't do anything about it."

Yukimura and Masamune spun around the living room again, passing the cassette tape as the song continued. Masamune observed Yukimura as his head twisted to follow the source of the music as they danced. He rather enjoyed the warmth that Yukimura seemed to constantly radiate and he almost wished to keep Yukimura close as a space heater. After all, winter _was_ coming.

_The white of flesh, the white of bone, _

_The worms will leave your soul alone_

_On and on the road does go, _

_Down into the depths below_

_Off you went to call the king, _

_You wish to hear the Devil sing..._

The song ended and they stopped revolving around the room. They stepped away, reluctantly releasing the other's fingers.

"Told you I can dance."

* * *

"Chosokabe, I need to talk to you." Mori Motonari got off the phone on Wednesday night in the early hours of the morning. Motochika yawned and approached his boss, too tired to even question why Mori was talking to him in the first place. Usually he'd leave Motochika alone until closing time.

Motochika had gone out that day to talk to his old gang friends who had ineffectively 'gone off the radar' after their dissolving four years prior, when their alliance with Masamune's Sapphire Scales had been joint ended, and was feeling rather sleep deprived. 'Ineffectively' being thrown in jail at least one point in time or caught by the police doing one illegal thing or another. Thus, it wasn't hard to find them all with Magoichi's help.

"Yeah, what is it, Boss?" Motochika plopped himself down on the chair by the wall and Motonari covered the mouthpiece of the telephone.

"Someone's calling you."

Motochika's head shot up in surprise. No one knew he worked in Aki Club aside from Masamune, Saica and the Takeda family. Even Ieyasu only knew that he worked in a bar in the west and nothing other than that.

"Who-" Motonari cut the impending question short by tossing the phone at his employee and stalked back into the kitchen, the swinging doors clanking shut.

"Uh, hello?" Motochika tentatively held the speaker to his ear, just in case it was his cranky old great-aunt who did call from time to time just to canker him.

"Demon of Iyo." Motochika froze. It had been a _very_ long time since anyone had ever spoken that name to him.

"Who is this?"

The silence on the other side of the phone was making the pirate's skin crawl. _Talk about 'shiver-me-timbers',_ he thought absently as he tensely waited for a response.

After a brief moment of silence, the voice spoke again.

"You Demons can no longer hide from the Sun. Tokugawa is coming after you."

And the line cut.

On the other side of the phone line, Yoshitsugu let out a dry and uncharacteristic cackle. It had been so long since he had schemed; he just loved the moment when he set his plans into motion and like dominoes, everything fell into a chaotic heap at the end.

He made a mental note to pay Motonari for his information services later.

* * *

Yukimura returned home when he picked his phone up to hear Sasuke's panic attack over the phone.

"Hi Sasuke. I'm alright, we went to his home. No, we didn't do anything. No, _he _didn't do anything to me. _No_, I'm not lying. Why would I lie to you?"

Sasuke ended up driving to Masamune's apartment after being given directions over the phone and Masamune cheerily waved them off, ignoring Sasuke's suspicious glare. Their car was a slightly dented, rather average small family car – one that wouldn't be remembered on the street if you passed it.

"Ninja." Masamune muttered to himself with a smile before turning to see Kojuro's questioning expression.

"What was that all about?" Masamune's caretaker asked and the eye-patched man shrugged.

"Their foster dad just collapsed and he's in the hospital. I took care of the younger brother at home for about half an hour before his ninja older brother came and picked him up." Masamune yawned and walked back into the apartment block.

"Funny, because I met the older brother in the hospital about fifteen minutes ago." Kojuro said as they waited in the elevator travelling to the eleventh floor.

Kojuro opened the door and was slightly relieved to find that they hadn't trashed the living space. Masamune was infamous for a wrecked house if one ever took him home for an extended period of time. Though, this time, Masamune was the one who was bringing strangers into the apartment.

"You were listening to her?" Kojuro tossed his keys into the waiting dish near the door and shrugged off his coat, casting a pointed glance at the cassette tape.

"Yeah," Masamune said in a soft voice, his stance unreadable which immediately set off warning bells within Kojuro's head. Masamune was always a man who was easy to read. "I guess Itsuki must be happy that I fulfilled her promise."

Itsuki had been the person who ultimately convinced Masamune to return to Sakigahara Town. 'There were too many memories, too many mistakes there' he had said and she smiled in her childish way on the hospital bed that dwarfed her diminutive size and said, _'you'll never be lost or alone: you have me'. _

'_Promise me that you'll show that tape to your friends in Shuu-o Town.'_

'_I don't have any there, Itsuki.'_

'_Please, just try at least.'_

'…_Okay.'_

* * *

Yukimura stood on the platform at the end of the abandoned car park. The shopping district was the centre of Ruby Claws territory. Several large maps were spread on the concrete before him and a few of the older members of the gang were pointing out strategies and drawing lines in pencil as boundaries.

"Boss, the Demons of Iyo have just reformed. They're currently gaining land near the south from the Gold Suns. I dunno why they're fighting the Gold Suns; they used to be neutral toward each other. Even allies ages ago." The speaker circled a patch of land near the end of the western canal and Yukimura leant over to see better, the tails of his red headband dripping to the dusty floor like silky crimson rivers.

"I thought that they were supposed to be allied with another group ages ago," Yukimura frowned. "I wasn't boss then, you guys told me about it three years ago."

The speaker nodded.

"The Demons of Iyo used to be allied with the Sapphire Scales. I heard they broke up four years ago because the leader of the Sapphire Scales moved to another town."

"So why have the Demons of Iyo reformed?" Yukimura asked again.

The speaker shrugged. "Personal reasons, I dunno."

Yukimura nodded. "Regardless of reason, should we consider the Demons of Iyo part of the West Alliance? They are taking ground from the Gold Suns who are, may I remind you all, our rivals and enemies."

The car park filled with dull chatter as the other members talked among themselves, considering their options. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor just within Yukimura's vision. Surprised, he bent down to read the note.

"Vote. –TK"

Yukimura smiled. It was always like this. Whenever Yukimura was stuck and needing direction in leadership, a note would flutter down from the dark ceiling prompting him on what to do. The handwriting was always the same and at times, Yukimura could almost recognise it. But the inkling would disappear with a distraction or someone else demanding his attention.

Yukimura, along with everyone else in the Ruby Claws, was in the dark as to who Tenko Kamen was. The only thing they understood was that Tenko Kamen was purely on their side. As to why, no one but the elusive man knew.

Yukimura dearly wished to meet Tenko Kamen himself and thank him for his help.

"Tenko wants us to put it to a vote."

The man beside Yukimura called out, silence filling the car park instantly, "All in favour of including the Demons of Iyo in our alliance with the Silver Blades?"

The air filled with hands, wavering like grass in a breeze.

The speaker turned to Yukimura. "I guess that finalises it. Who wants to go talk to the Demon of Iyo?"

A hand rose near the entrance of the car park as the sea of limbs before Yukimura shot down. The dim light of the car park reflected off the mask half-hidden under the red hoodie that was the Ruby Claws' uniform. Yukimura grinned and addressed the crowd.

"I think Tenko's just nominated himself."

* * *

Yukimura let the assembly talk among themselves and groups of them slowly disappeared into the night. The brunet sighed and looked at his watch. Ten forty-five, plenty of time to go home and sleep.

Yukimura walked out the back way of the car park, pulling out his phone when it rang.

"Hi, Sasuke. I was just about to call."

"_Hey there. The corner shop doesn't have the stuff I want so I'm going to have to take a little longer getting back. Just go the sleep normally, I'll be back at around one."_

"But Sasuke, are you going to be okay for tomorrow? What happens if it's… busy…"

Yukimura suddenly remembered that Shingen wasn't going to be opening the shop as usual.

"_D-don't worry, Yukimura. Shingen will be back soon, you know him. How about I explain everything once I get back, okay?"_ The forced cheer on the other end of the phone just dampened Yukimura's spirits even more.

"Okay…"

Yukimura hung up and turned the last corner to their apartment complex.

"Hey! Where're you going this late at night?" A heavy arm draped itself over Yukimura's shoulders and his head shot up to meet the owner's sour, alcohol-heavy breath.

Yukimura tried to duck under the invasive arm but it tightened around his shoulders, squeezing the breath out of him.

"Aw, isn't he a cute rabbit!" A second man approached from behind and tugged on the tails of the red headband with clumsy hands.

"I saw him first!"

"Did not."

And the two strangers continued their argument over Yukimura's head. Yukimura wondered if they had forgotten about him and made a sudden mad dash forward in an attempt to escape.

The arm around his shoulders slipped off but the second man, who seemed to have more of his wits about him, yanked harshly on the fabric of the headband and Yukimura's head snapped back. Staggering backwards, Yukimura felt a small rivulet of blood drip down his face where the ribbon cut into flesh. He also dimly registered the clattering of his phone on the floor though the two men paid no notice.

Shaking his head, Yukimura felt the cloth around his forehead slip off and he took off running down the street, away from their apartment and down the darkened street. Heart hammering madly, Yukimura ignored the blood that ran into his eye and pelted forward as fast as he could. The sound of his sneakers hitting the pavement was frighteningly loud, the sound of his pursuers even louder.

The street was empty and damp, the moisture glistening off the bitumen in the amber glow of street lights. Yukimura's terrified breath frosted into huge clouds before him, not wasting any air on calling for help. There were only empty storefronts where he had run and he was much too far from any form of residential area for anyone to help.

Yukimura leaped over a puddle onto the road, beside him was a long shadow that was surely drawing closer. Yukimura let his hand catch a pole and he swung himself into the alley it stood by. He took three strides then the darkness was total.

_Help me, help me, help me!_ Yukimura chanted in his head even as he stumbled over a trash bag. He couldn't even see an arm's length in front of him but judging the noise and curses behind him, neither could those men.

Yukimura let out a whimper. It was so dark in the alleyway and he could run and run and never even notice something as big as a

WALL

Yukimura let out a yelp and managed to get both his hands up pushing off the bricks without losing too much momentum, and travelled down the alley to his left where he could see the wet street again. His lungs burning, he pounded for the street. Behind him, he heard a strangled grunt as his pursuer hit the wall. He saw a light on at a 24-hour corner store and Yukimura nearly cried in relief.

People equalled safety.

If he was _really_ lucky, Sasuke would be there too.

"Gotcha!" Yukimura collided with what felt like a solid iron bar and the breath was driven out of his lungs. He struggled weakly with the other man who had run around the other side to cut his escape off and was soon joined by the man who had run into the wall.

"He really is a rabbit!" exclaimed the man holding Yukimura captive. Yukimura's head swam and his lungs struggled to function properly, clinging tightly to the man holding him so he wouldn't collapse from exhaustion. It had been years since he had had an asthmatic attack but the long run and adrenaline was causing a relapse.

A sharp impact stung Yukimura's cheekbone and it rattled his vision. Blinking to clear it, he looked at the man who was following him through the alley. In his hand was his red, blood-stained headband and it trembled within clutched fingers.

"You little bastard!" The man wheezed as he clutched the stitch in his side and blinked the blood from the cut on his forehead out of his eye. "Don't you know who I am?"

The pained yet furious expression on the man's purple-blotched face almost made Yukimura laugh despite being caught by his adversaries.

"You didn't have to hit him. It's your fault for being so unhealthy." Joked the man holding Yukimura and as soon as his breath evened out, Yukimura looked up get a better look at him.

He was decidedly better-looking that the other one: sand-coloured hair and a pair of round glasses perched upon his nose. The stench of alcohol was also on this man, but not quite as potently as the man standing opposite.

"I'm second in command for the Gold Sun!" The chaser gasped and was promptly floored by a punch to the face. Yukimura blinked in surprise.

"Well," Yukimura's captor said. "He's finally quiet."

"What's going on?" Yukimura asked, feeling just a little out of the loop.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I was just doing a little recon on the Gold Suns for the Sapphire Scales. Hope you don't mind."

Yukimura refused to mention that he'd been scared half out of his wits and that he, himself, was the leader of the Ruby Claws.

* * *

**So many line breaks in this one o_o**

**But I had to get the ball rolling on the action!**

**Kudos if you recognise the lyrics to the song Itsuki sings :)**

**Moral of the story: don't trust the okra. Or the mummy.**


	11. Love Does Not Equal Courage

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Ah;;; I'm so sorry for leaving everyone hanging! OTL**

**Writer's block is a bitch so I've had to put things on hold so I can work things out a little more. Exams are over but I'm after my license now so things are still kinda hectic.**

**BUT HERE'S LE UPDATE! 8D**

**Warning: Lots of DateSana angst here.**

**Full Title: Love Does Not Equal Courage**

* * *

Motochika Chosokabe stared incredulously at the mess wrapped in linen with the vague semblance of a face beneath. His second-in-command had been almost bludgeoned to death and Motochika was told that it would take many months for him to properly heal.

Two broken arms, broken pelvis, severe internal bleeding, shattered sternum and his facial features were literally rearranged.

This_ was the personal doing of the leader of the Gold Suns?_ Motochika mused as he sat silently beside his second-in-command.

The Iyo Demons were back, Motochika had made sure of that. The rest of his gang were claiming land from back when they still owned land. And it just so happened to be Gold Sun territory.

_I will have answers_, Motochika thought, and the sheets creased between his fingers as if he were squeezing the life out of them, feeling as if he might burst with all the emotions rampant within him. _Where does the comforter receive his comfort? _

The figure on the bed moaned quietly.

"Don't talk," Motochika muttered as he stood to leave. "I'll get your revenge."

But the man on the bed gargled pitifully again and yet was ignored.

'Ieyasu didn't do this; it was one of the Silver Blades!' He tried to say, but he was too broken to move.

* * *

Sasuke looked around the corner of the street and grimaced. It was the second time this month that he had made an 'arrangement' with another gang leader. Frankly, it was impacting on his health despite its technological enhancements.

But that was a story for another time.

He looked down at his bandage covered wrist. Being Tenko Kamen wasn't the safest of jobs but it allowed Sasuke to look after Yukimura, even if his younger brother thought he could fool him with his weak excuses and weekly disappearances to talk with his gang.

There was a small sense of unease in Sasuke's mind. Perhaps it was due to the events earlier in the day, with his foster father collapsing and other such happenings (Sasuke still couldn't believe that he had left Yukimura with Masamune Date of all people!). Regardless, he still couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding that plagued his mind.

Sasuke pulled out his Ruby Claws hoodie and his kitsune mask from the back pack slung over his shoulder. Donning both items, Tenko made a running leap, hopped off a trash can with a loud clank and caught the lower branches of a nearby spindly tree that stood dismally in its tiny dirt plot surrounded by concrete and a bent picket fence. Hauling himself up with ease, Tenko left his black pack within the branches and dropped back down.

Taking off on a swift run, Tenko made his way down toward the western canal where he knew the Iyo Demons would be. The roar of motorbikes filled the air as Tenko approached and he knew that he was close.

A fenced wall stood overlooking the park that the group of thirty-odd men on motorcycles were occupying. Tenko jumped through the horizontal bars that formed the railing and slipped through with ease, landing heavily on the back of a moving motorbike. The driver shouted in surprise and he swerved but Tenko left him behind in another jump that landed him in the path of the white-haired, eye-patched leader sitting astride his vintage motorbike. Motochika's huge anchor gleamed wickedly in the electric lighting of the park.

Tenko knew he had to be careful in dealing with Motochika. After all, the pirate knew Sasuke himself. With all his visits to the café, Motochika was sure to have memorised some of Sasuke's voice and mannerisms.

"And who are you?" growled the Demon of Iyo.

Sasuke nearly jumped in surprise. The deep scowl and evil aura that Motochika exuded was a stark contrast to his usual loud and boisterous laugh and relaxed demeanour. A cold glare had settled into his sea-blue eyes, reminding Tenko of a shadowy glacier.

"Representative of the Western Alliance," Sasuke made sure to alter his voice, a little higher than usual, as he spoke. "We'd like you to join us."

He held out a switchblade knife and his left wrist. The bandage had been taken off when he had put on his hoodie.

Motochika's mouth quirked into a grim smile.

"Just like the good old days…" He muttered as he held out his hand. A hulking man wearing a purple bandana handed him a plain knife and Tenko and Motochika slit a line into their skin.

They grasped forearms and said their terms.

"No betrayals on the Western Alliance." Tenko said, knowing it would be the first thing asked by the leader of the Silver Blades. No one was quite sure why the snowy-haired leader was so hell-bent on loyalty.

"Hm… No trespassers on our turf." Motochika's hand tightened around Sasuke's femur and the masked brunet felt the bone creak ominously.

"Trade secrets will not be shared." Sasuke made it a point to not react to the tightening vice around his arm.

"You don't beat up my guys, I won't beat up yours." Motochika smirked.

"You're lovely, aren't you?" Tenko muttered and Motochika chuckled, a dark reflection of his daytime self.

"No trouble for our side." Tenko finally stated and they released their hold on each other's arm. There was a peculiar prickling feeling as the blood resumed circulation through the veins in Sasuke's arm.

Tenko held out his blood-stained knife, handle first to Motochika and accepted the offered knife in return. The new blade felt too large in his hand and Sasuke noticed that the blade had been wickedly serrated by hand.

"I'd expect to see some opposition from the Gold Suns from now on, Chosokabe." Tenko warned as he began walking away.

"That's precisely what I want," Motochika growled as he glared suspiciously at Tenko's receding back. "And exactly how do you know my name?"

Shit.

Tenko stopped at the foot of the stairs that led away from the skate park. Sasuke was cursing himself mentally; how on earth could he have made such a stupid mistake?!

Tenko, however, threw casually over his shoulder, "I'm Tenko Kamen. I know a lot of things."

* * *

"You're the leader of the Ruby Claws, aren't you?" Yukimura jolted and gave the spy from the Sapphire Scales a sharp look.

"How-"

"I know a lot of things, kid."

The Sapphire Scales spy had led Yukimura to a car parked a few streets away. "Relax," he said. "All I want you to do is talk to my leader. That's all."

"Oh, and here." The spectacled man handed Yukimura a handkerchief and a bottle of cold water. Yukimura stared at the two items before finally realising he must still look like a complete mess with the cut on his forehead. And so, he cleaned himself as best as he could.

Yukimura remained in the passenger side of the car waiting in apprehension as the spy drove him to the abandoned hospital in the south of the city. There were a few small groups of gang members hanging around the vicinity, talking around oil drum fires that stank heavily of some thick fatty substance. Some were talking about the escalating tensions between the city gangs and all the fights that have flared up among the subordinates.

"I was attacked by some Ruby Claws today," Yukimura overheard one man with a pockmarked face who chattered to a sizeable group. "The young people nowadays, none of them know any respect!" The man punctuated his statement with a fist hammered into the palm of his hand and Yukimura winced at the sharp slapping sound. He inconspicuously folded his arms in front of his chest, hiding the six gold coin insignia on the front.

A few men called out and waved at the spy. Yukimura huddled in his companion's shadow, worried that one of these men would recognise him as the Crimson Tiger of the Ruby Claws Gang.

"Come and have a drink! Right Eye can live without his report for a few more minutes." One man called out.

"I'm not going to risk my butt for another cheap beer, thanks." The glasses-wearing man leading Yukimura shouted back with a grin.

_Not even the members of my gang are this close,_ thought Yukimura as they walked down a dark corridor – the only source of light being the bloated moon that shone through the small, grimy windows.

"Boss, I think I've found someone you might like." The man rapped his knuckles against the thick wooden door down a quiet corridor. The door creaked open and there stood an unreadable man who stared down at Yukimura from over the spy's shoulder.

"Come in," He said to Yukimura. "I want your report on paper in the next hour." This he directed to the spy who walked off with a brief wave and affirmative.

"Sit." Yukimura found himself sitting in what looked like a doctor's office. It had been carefully stripped of all the previous owner's belongings and had been retrofitted with ancient steel filing cabinets. These cabinets filled the room to an extreme extent, allowing enough space for a single, moderately-sized desk and two chairs. Seated in front of the desk, Yukimura suddenly remembered one glorious occasion where he had accidentally been caught running in a hallway in high school and was sent to a deputy head, just to prove that he was, indeed, 'bad'.

Oh, how the times have changed.

"You are the leader of the Ruby Claws, correct?" The man had seated himself behind the desk, looking intently at Yukimura through a pair of brown reading glasses.

Yukimura blinked in surprise. He was not expecting a well-groomed, austere-looking man in his mid-thirties to be the head of the Sapphire Scales. Albeit being scarred on the face, Yukimura would have thought him to be a normal working-class man.

Then again, Yukimura himself didn't really look like 'gang-leader material'.

"I'll be taking your silence as a yes."

Yukimura remained stupidly mute, still unsure of how he had managed to get into this position. He was attacked, chased, and then he was fairly sure he had been saved then kidnapped… Oh, what would Sasuke think?

_But Sasuke knows nothing about my involvement with the Ruby Claws_, thought Yukimura.

"The leader of the Sapphire Scales wanted to know if you could ally with us." The leader of the Sapphire Scales said.

"…What?"

The man gave Yukimura a peculiar look, as if gauging the precise extent of his intelligence.

"Our leader wants you to ally with us and the Gold Suns." Kojuro repeated.

"You are not the leader of the Sapphire Scales?" said Yukimura in disbelief.

"No," Kojuro adjusted the glasses on his nose. "The leader is my ward."

…Oh.

"I guess it wouldn't be too prudent for me to ask who your leader is, would it?" Yukimura tentatively asked.

"For any other gang, of course not; his name is Masamune Date," Kojuro appraised Yukimura's expression of shock. "So, do we have an accord?"

"No!" Yukimura blurted, suddenly finding himself on his feet.

The Sapphire Scale second-in-command raised an incredulous brow, waiting for a reason.

Yukimura was at a loss. Masamune was the leader of the Sapphire Scales? And he was allied with the Gold Suns which made everything even more complicated.

_How come he never told me that he was the head of an old gang in this city?_

Yukimura bit the inside of his cheek. Of course Masamune would not have told anyone his status within this city. It was for the exact same reason why Yukimura had not told Masamune that he was the head of the Ruby Claws.

"I'm sorry!" Yukimura squeezed his eyes shut and bowed at the waist toward the man seated behind the table. "But I cannot accept your offer."

Kojuro nodded, releasing a disappointed sigh.

"Goodbye, then."

* * *

Sasuke rounded the corner of the corner shop, hoodie and mask back in his back pack. A bandage was wrapped even further up his arm, over the purpling hand imprinted in his flesh. Sasuke had not known that Motochika was as strong as his size flaunted. He had seemed to be able to handle almost everything delicately despite the proof of immense strength bruised into Sasuke's arm as he walked home.

The night had gotten colder and Sasuke briefly wondered if Yukimura had made it home and was wondering where he was. The tattooed man dug his gloved hands deeper into the bomber jacket he was wearing and watched his breath sparkle before him in the amber light of street lamps.

"Damn brat." A drunken bundle mumbled, sitting a few storefronts down from the convenience store. Sasuke would have ignored the man, seeing many of his kind at this hour on the streets. What stopped him was the long red ribbon clutched within the drunkard's fists.

"Hey. Where'd you get that?" Sasuke said almost kindly to the inebriated man, standing over him ominously. He had a fat, purpling bruise on his left cheek and he turned his red-rimmed, watery eyes up to focus badly on the figure before him.

"Brat from before."

"_What_ 'brat from before'? What did he look like?" Sasuke let a little anger bleed into his voice.

The man seemed to pout then mumbled, "Dunno. Cute. Red phone. Long, brown hair. Wearing a red leather jacket-"

Sasuke viciously slammed the man's head into the brick wall he was slumped against. The man gave a pathetic whimper.

"And, pray tell me, who are you with?" Sasuke snarled.

A tiny spark of defiance glittered in the man's eye.

"Second-in-command of the Gold Suns you-" The man gave a funny cough/wheeze as Tenko gave a quick twist and heard the satisfying crack of a spinal column breaking.

Plucking the red ribbon from slack fingers, Sasuke inspected the blood-stained cloth before tucking it safely into his pocket.

_If the Gold Suns want a war, they've got one._

* * *

Yoshitsugu Otani wheeled himself out of the dodgy lift that led up to their apartment floor. He hummed a cheerful tune to himself and quickly realised that he was singing 'Happy Birthday' to himself.

Yoshitsugu unlocked the door to their apartment and wheeled in. Mitsunari looked around the corner with a hint of surprise on his face.

"Why are you so happy?" Mitsunari asked as Yoshitsugu sang 'happy _death_ day to you' under his breath.

"Oh, nothing," Yoshitsugu said in a raspy, sing-song voice. "Just that I've found out that Ieyasu Tokugawa is living quite happily in the east of Sakigahara City."

Mitsunari nearly dropped his pill box out of sheer shock.

"WHAT?!" He exploded.

"Now, you need to calm down before you go anywhere," Yoshitsugu said before noticing the murderous expression on his friend's face. "N-not that you _need_ to calm down."

"I'm leaving, Yoshitsugu." Mitsunari slammed his tin box on the kitchen bench and pried it open.

"Mitsunari, what is that?" Yoshitsugu instantly stopped gloating. His plan would work only if Mitsunari reacted as expected and not under the influence of anything foreign.

Like illegal drugs, for instance.

"Medicine." Was the vague reply and the white-haired boy swept past his roommate, taking his lilac long coat and antique sword with him.

"No, it's not. We _both_ know it's not. Mitsunari, wait-" Yoshitsugu reached out too far and tumbled out of his wheelchair, just as the front door snapped closed.

Yoshitsugu already knew it would always be like this:

Mitsunari would walk out of the door without a look back.

And Yoshitsugu would always be the one stuck behind on his wheelchair, staring at his back.

Since when had Mitsunari been so far away from him?

* * *

Masamune's phone was ringing.

It vibrated madly on his bedside table next to his leather eye patch, trembling its way closer and closer to the edge.

The phone toppled off the dresser and was deftly caught by Masamune who rolled over in bed, never asleep in the first place.

"What is it, Kojuro?" He calmly spoke into the speaker while staring up at the moonbeams that filtered through the slats of his blinds onto his ceiling.

'_I met the Ruby Claws leader just then.'_ Masamune blinked once, waiting for Kojuro to continue.

'_Apparently, our Gold Sun spy found him just as he was about to be attacked by the guy he was following.'_ Masamune let out a soft huff of amusement, allowing Kojuro to continue talking.

'_I talked to him and he seemed okay. I offered an alliance with him but when I told him your name he didn't seem to want to join us anymore.'_

Masamune frowned at this point. Why would someone not want to join a relatively unheard-of gang just because of is name?

"Kojuro, what did he look like?" Masamune had sat up by now, mentally running through all the people he knew in Sakigahara City.

'_Hm… Male, around your age, a bit dim; a little shorter than you, long, brown hair, brown eyes… I think he'd be your type if your type hasn't changed over these years,'_

Masamune's eyes widened as the mental list was swiftly cut down to just one person who fit the description._ No, no, no… it can't be, it can't be…_

"Yukimura Sanada." He breathed.

Kojuro hesitated on the other side, joking tone gone. "Masamune, do you know him?"

His ward was silent on the other end of the phone and Kojuro worried that he had simply hung up on him.

'_Kojuro, take care of things for me there tonight.'_

Snapping his phone shut, Masamune quickly pulled a long-sleeved, white shirt over his head and pulled on a pair of socks. Jumping out of bed, he grabbed his navy trench coat and yanked on a pair of boots. He walked past an open door and hesitated briefly. A long bundle was wrapped in blue cloth and it sat demurely upon the folded futon in Kojuro's room.

Entering, Masamune felt as if he were ten again, creeping into his caretaker's room to sneak a peek at the wrapped present for Christmas.

Untying the knot at the top, the cloth fell away to reveal his dearest treasure from five years ago.

In their polished scabbards attached to the custom leather belt were six plain machetes with worn handles. Masamune knew that all six blades would be immaculately clean because that was the kind of person Kojuro was. Retying the bundle, he placed all six blades inside a duffle bag and grabbed his keys.

Locking the apartment behind him, Masamune made his way down to Azure in the parking lot and swiftly drove off toward the apartment block on the east side of the city that held the most answers.

As Masamune arrived, he watched another car drive away and a familiar figure disappear into the apartment foyer complex. Masamune froze then, staring blankly at the steel door of the complex. A torrent of emotions raged through him and squeezed his steel heart; anger for not realising, apprehension of what would come next, happiness that the waiter was safe, yet fear.

Fear of what might happen.

Fear of rejection.

That feeling was almost too much to bear. Thinking about a rejection from Yukimura… somehow Masamune felt that his life wouldn't be the same without the waiter – he'd already filled an empty part in his heart.

Masamune shook himself, feeling the chill leech the warmth from his body out of inactivity. Swinging his leg off his motorbike, Masamune dismounted and approached the little black speaker box. He didn't know what would happen if he rang, neither did he know if he would be pushed away or get his answers.

At that moment, Masamune didn't care if Yukimura was the leader of the Ruby Claws, or if it was all a huge mistake. Maybe Yukimura didn't like him the same but Masamune was sure as hell right there and then, on the waiter's doorstep, that he wouldn't have loved any other person as much as he did then.

Now… to get that love to translate into enough courage to press the button labelled 'Takeda'.


	12. The Big Reveal

Love, the Cassette Tape

**Ugh, I jump around so much in this chapter. If you need clarification, feel free to review and ask.**

**The next few updates are for making up loat time and a special Christmas/new year's present. **

**As for my impromptu hiatus, I just lost the motivation to write (curse you procrastination and videogamesssss). I know that's not a very good excuse but… I have no other. Sorry.**

**Enjoy anyway!**

**Full Title: The Big Reveal**

* * *

The doorbell echoed through the empty flat and it startled Yukimura out of his reverie. He still couldn't believe that Masamune was the head of a rival gang.

The bell rang again and without thinking, Yukimura pressed 'open'.

'You have no survival instincts at all, do you?' Yukimura flinched as the smooth, velvety voice of Masamune popped up in his mind of when he was standing in the same spot just a few weeks ago. Yukimura hurriedly pulled the chain lock across and waited with bated breath for the knock on the door.

_Knock, knock…_

Yukimura jumped again. The silence of the apartment was too oppressive. Shingen wasn't home, neither was Sasuke, Yukimura felt his eyes prick with tears but he slowly opened the door a crack.

"Yukimura?"

He slammed the door shut. Yukimura stared at the door, thinking 'why is it that Masamune turns up at either the most opportune or awkward times?'

Outside, Masamune stood at Yukimura's door, fighting the urge to run or yell at Yukimura to open up. He heard the rattle of a chain lock being released and the door flew open wider, Yukimura standing in the opening with an almost bashful expression on his face.

The bashfulness quickly dissolved into horror when Yukimura realised he was still wearing his leather Ruby Claws jacket.

"Yukimura, wait-"

"Leave me alone!"

Yukimura swung the door and turned to run toward his bedroom just as Masamune stopped the front door with a forearm and followed in at a run.

Yukimura barrelled into his bedroom and slammed the door shut, feeling an impact from the other side and an accompanying 'shit!'

"Yukimura, listen to me. I'm sorry I never told you." There was a pause. "Wait… why am I apologising?"

"I don't know." Came the slightly muffled reply.

Masamune slapped a hand against his forehead and slid down the door until he was sitting with his back pressed into the wood.

"What should I do?" He mumbled to himself, feeling like his metal world was close to collapsing around him. The kid had already melted his mask; the Azure Dragon. It was only a matter of time until he saw the twisted reptile underneath the shining blue scales of his façade.

"I want to know everything about you." Yukimura said sadly into the door.

Masamune paused. His was a rhetorical question but Masamune wondered if saying everything – that included laying everything he'd done, everything he _was_ out to bear – would satisfy the boy who had shut himself behind the door he was leaning on.

"Long story short; my father doesn't care about anything but an heir to the company, my mother can't stand to touch me, and my brother thinks I'm a useless idiot," Masamune exhaled and stared up at the off-white ceiling. "That's my personal life. The only one who has been some sort of parental figure has to be Kojuro."

Yukimura relaxed against the other side of the door. "What is Kojuro like?" he asked.

Masamune smiled. "Kojuro is like my second father."

Yukimura was silent on his side before sprouting, "Like Shingen to me!"

Masamune struggled not to laugh. "Not quite. He's kind of like Sasuke and Shingen rolled into one person."

"Oh…"

Masamune relaxed against the door. It was like he had managed to take small weights off his chest as he talked and gladly answered Yukimura's door-muffled questions.

In turn, Yukimura slowly described his life from childhood; his time in an orphanage, being adopted by Shingen, his school life, forming the Ruby Claws, up until he met Masamune.

By then, the sky had gone gunmetal grey with the hints of a weak sunrise through the kitchen window.

The door clunked and Masamune jolted back when the door opened just a crack.

"Masamune," Yukimura looked down at the dark-haired figure slumped against his door. "_Why_ do you hate your mother so much?"

Masamune's head tilted upwards and looked at his friend with a face more desolate than Yukimura had ever seen.

"Not once since my birth has she ever touched me."

* * *

Ieyasu shivered in his seat at the front of the Mikawa Delivery Service. Perhaps it was because he was alone in the shop or the late-autumn weather but he felt a chill down his spine every once in a while. He was already wearing his fur-lined jacket and yet he still shuddered every few minutes.

_Maybe I just need to talk a walk…_ he thought to himself, shutting the thick register before him. Masamune had offered to help with the cost counting but Ieyasu felt better if he did all the work himself in addition to some of the heavy-lifting in the business.

Ieyasu walked out the back way where the rear garage door left him on a dingy street that smelt of mouldering fish and stagnant smoke. He stretched, feeling his spine creak and he immediately felt better when he walked over the street toward the little patch of sunlight that illuminated a brick wall.

He gave a sigh of relief. Being in the sun always cheered Ieyasu up a little ever since he was small. He eventually earned the nickname of 'Sunflower' in primary school with his affinity to the sun. He chuckled to himself, remembering the name 'Moondrop' given to…

Ieyasu's eyes opened slowly, shading them with his hand when the sun became too bright.

Why did he have to think of him now?

Ieyasu shook his head and took off on a jog around the block to clear his head. _Don't think about him, don't think about him. _He ignored the ache in his chest.

_I just want a simple, non-violent life, a stable job. I'll be fine then._

Ieyasu finally made it around to the rear garage door and swiftly swung himself up onto the loading dock and walked back into the building.

Outside, he heard a car park a little way down the street. The skin on the back of Ieyasu's neck prickled.

Today was a very slow day and only a few loading mats were stacked haphazardly around the concrete store room, looking a little worse for wear. The forklift that raised the mats was parked outside in a tiny (and admittedly not very secure) garage tacked to the side of the building.

A flash of white flitted past, just within Ieyasu's range of eyesight. Straightening up, Ieyasu stared at a small tower of wooden mats.

"Hello?" He called warily.

The call echoed briefly in the confined space and there was another flicker of white hair that passed just as Ieyasu glanced the other way.

Turning sharply, Ieyasu saw the source of the movement within the warehouse.

"What are you doing here?" Ieyasu asked, stumped momentarily.

The punch to the gut caught Ieyasu off guard and he stumbled back, gasping. Ieyasu's lungs refused to absorb oxygen. A swift push and a foot that hooked under Ieyasu's heel had him slamming to the floor. Any breath that had begun to return to Ieyasu was driven from his body again. Ieyasu gagged. A boot flashed into his vision and the toe caught him under the chin. The kick slammed his brain against the wall of his skull and Ieyasu instantly blacked out.

Motochika looked down coldly at the body splayed out on the concrete before him for a moment before hoisting him over one shoulder and jumping down from the loading dock. He heard one of Ieyasu's arms thump weakly against the concrete ledge. Regardless, he carried his load over to the waiting car – a dinged up white Toyota – and dumped Ieyasu unceremoniously into the boot, slamming the door closed.

Casually checking over his shoulder for any witnesses, Motochika sat in the driver's seat and drove off into the midday traffic of Sakigahara City with a body in the boot and no one the wiser.

* * *

Mitsunari was not lost. Not yet.

His sense of direction continued to take him east, past the urban district, the storefronts and apartments, and into the main centre of the city. Now he was nearing the eastern side of the city and this was where his instinct faded with his confidence.

Mitsunari let out a sigh of frustration. Turning around, he let his instinct lead him wherever it wanted. He strolled along the increasingly quieter streets, with sword in hand and soon found himself watching a slightly beat up, white Toyota stop outside an apartment complex.

As the Misfortune King approached, the driver took note of the stylised coat he wore and rolled down his window. Mitsunari leant against the car.

"Demon of Iyo," Mitsunari murmured and Motochika Chosokabe blinked once. "Where is Ieyasu Tokugawa?"

Motochika seemed to retreat within himself, leaving only a blank expression. Slowly, the icy eyes met Mitsunari's own blue-green eyes.

"He runs a company called Mikawa Delivery in the east." Motochika finally mumbled.

Mitsunari nodded his thanks. Usually, the heads of ally gangs wouldn't talk very much (excluding Boss Toyotomi's army, piped up a voice in Mitsunari's head which was quickly quashed) but to attack enemy gangs, information was always shared.

"Mitsunari," The slim man paused in his walking as Motochika leant out of his window. "I wouldn't take another one of those." The larger white-haired man nodded at Mitsunari's hand in his pocket, about to pull out another pill.

Mitsunari's eyes narrowed.

"I don't recall you being able to order me around."

Motochika's expression flattened from slightly worried to neutral.

"Whatever, Moondrop." He said just loud enough for Mitsunari to hear. Mitsunari scowled.

"Don't call me that." He snapped, accentuating his point with a fist slamming down on the trunk door before he walked off.

Motochika's mouth curled up at the sides and restarted his car.

Time for his interrogation.

* * *

Kojuro opened the door to an empty apartment. The sky outside the kitchen window was turning a rich indigo, signalling a cloudy dawn.

Masamune had left, evidently. It was always like this, especially during Masamune's high school years. Kojuro would return dog-tired, very much as he was now, from a university course and find that either the apartment was trashed or his ward was simply vacant. Most of the time, Kojuro knew that Masamune was out with his gang. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence but this time, Kojuro felt a chill go down his spine as he observed the apartment from the doorway.

Perhaps it was because of the ominous talk among the Sapphire Scales. There was news among the Scales members who were familiar with Gold Suns that their leader – an eighteen-year-old Ieyasu Tokugawa – was kidnapped by the Iyo Demons in the Western Alliance that afternoon.

Kojuro heaved a heavy sigh as he prepared some Earl Grey tea. He just wasn't cut out for gang organisation any more. News had gotten around about his attempt to get the Ruby Scales on the Eastern Alliance. The kid was polite, Kojuro would give him that, but he seriously lacked proper leadership skills if the stories about the Ruby Claws were true.

The kettle wailed and Kojuro brewed a small pot of tea and left it on the kitchen bench. Their main adversary – the Silver Blades – was getting impatient. Kojuro loathed the time when the two alliances in the city collided. Not to mention the sensation caused when the topic of the conversation turned to the Ruby Claws' assassin.

Tenko Kamen was something of an urban myth, what with his mystery, loyalty toward the Ruby Claws and 100% defeat rate. It was all the Sakigahara Police could do to keep the whole gang war quiet. Kojuro briefly wondered what kind of person Tenko Kamen was.

Shrugging, Kojuro began drinking his tea.

Though, the kidnapping of the Gold Sun leader was troublesome, especially so if the rumour was true and it was the Demon of Iyo who was the perpetrator. The Iyo Demons were a small party, Kojuro remembered that. Why they would side with the Silver Blades must be a personal reason because of the tension between the leaders of the Gold Suns and Iyo Demons, evident with the recent kidnapping.

Kojuro frowned. Weren't the two of them childhood friends or something?

_The Silver Blades must be a bad influence,_ thought Kojuro as he swilled the amber liquid around his cup, staring down at the dregs with an expression of bereaved amusement. _We're almost like children with our petty disputes._

Kojuro's expression hardened. There was some troubling information about the leader of the Silver Blades. Apparently, he was taking a new kind of substance circulating and it was made controversially by Date Pharmaceuticals. It wasn't just the leader of the Silver Blades, apparently there a lot of users in the gang as well as in others. The drawbacks were unconfirmed but rumoured to be intense, which was worrisome for Kojuro.

He made a mental note to investigate the matter of Mr Date's illegal drug side job.

Setting his teacup on the table, Kojuro decided to get at least a couple of hours sleep before he had to get up and go to a few more job interviews.

His mobile phone jangled loudly what felt like a few minutes later. Kojuro scowled at the item releasing the offensive noise so early in the morning and he wearily pressed it to his ear.

"Mr Katakura, we're sorry to wake you so early in the morning but Mr Date died two days ago. We were unable to contact you until now because of legal difficulties but Yoshi is in Sakigahara City now."

"What- Masamune would be furious!" Kojuro snapped as he sat up in his bed.

"I-We know that, but we couldn't stop her or Kojiro. A-and…"

Kojuro rubbed his eyelids, trying to dispel the head ache coming on.

"Yes?"

"We've just been informed that Yoshi has also collapsed and is in Sakigahara Hospital right now."

* * *

Yukimura leant down and pressed a gentle kiss into Masamune's upturned lips. They jumped apart with surprise just as quickly as a spark zinged across their flesh.

No, really. It was static electricity.

"Ow!" Yukimura howled as he landed on his backside, clutching his mouth.

"The hell have you been doing?" Masamune growled in mild annoyance as he cupped his own mouth. "How did you get static electricity on your mouth?!"

"I don't know!" whimpered Yukimura.

His silver eye met teary chocolate brown. They shared a chuckle, then a snigger. Finally they began laughing on the floor of Sasuke and Yukimura's bedroom.

Masamune was happy that Yukimura decided to kiss him at least. Masamune promised to himself that the next kiss that they'd share would be their first and best. Third time's the charm, as they say.

"I'm back." Yukimura and Masamune guiltily jolted around to see a rather bedraggled Sasuke step into the apartment.

Masamune seriously must have slept with karma and all her sisters in a past life in order to be romantically punished this badly.

"You're kidding me."

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke stormed over to Masamune, not in the mood for annoying brother defilers.

"Sasuke, I invited him here." Yukimura lied, and it showed instantly on the boy's face.

"Yukimura, don't lie to me."

"B-but I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. You're blushing and your left eye twitches when you lie. Which it's doing right now."

Yukimura slapped both hands over his face with embarrassment, his face as red as his coat.

Masamune just chuckled from his seat on the floor.

Sasuke scowled at the eye-patched man on the floor before his eyes widened with horror. "Yukimura, your coat-"

"Oh, he knows already- wait… Sasuke, how do you know what my coat stands for?" Yukimura peered curiously out from between his fingers.

"Um…"

Sasuke was saved by the ringing of Masamune's phone.

"That's an awful ringtone."

"I don't care, now shut up."

Masamune listened intently after checking the caller ID. "Hi, Kojuro."

Sasuke and Yukimura watched as Masamune's expression morphed from curiosity, anger, then complete and utter horror.

"You're kidding me. Kojuro, you have to be **fucking kidding me**!" Masamune roared into the mouthpiece. He was on his feet now, pacing angrily up and down the living room like a caged dragon.

"No, no, no! This can't be happening…" Masamune murmured after his phone call ended, exuding an air of defeat. This scared Sasuke as in all the two-and-a-half months that he had known the man, he had never looked so lifeless.

"Masamune… what's wrong?" Yukimura had made his way over to Masamune and gently touched his shoulder.

"Nothing's wrong." The eye-patched man snapped.

Yukimura drew his hand back sharpish as if he were stung.

"Hey, Yukimura deserves to know what's going on!" Sasuke strode over to the front door just as Masamune reached it and grasped the silver-eyed left shoulder.

"I just need to pack." Masamune reached up and grasped Sasuke's left forearm and wrenched it away from him.

"What?!" Yukimura shrieked, his voice uncharacteristically high, drowning out Sasuke's hiss of pain. "But you just moved here. How can you just leave again?"

Masamune had his back to the door, a peculiar look on his face.

"Sasuke, why are you bleeding?" Masamune asked softly.

Sasuke's eyes widened briefly with shock (and was that fear?) as he hid his left arm behind his back.

"I'm not. What are you talking about?" Sasuke said defensively as he began backing away.

"You're dripping on the floor. I hardly call that 'fine' let alone 'uninjured' as you should be." Masamune stated with suspicion. Somehow, this made the man even more menacing than he usually appeared.

Sasuke glanced down and realised that Masamune was right. The hot rush of blood trickled off his cold fingers as it spattered on the burgundy-lacquered wooden floor.

"That's it, you're coming with me to the hospital-"

"NO!" The force in Sasuke's voice shocked even him.

"I'm not going to stay in the hospital. It's too far to walk." He added weakly.

Masamune sighed. "I'm going there anyway; Yoshi is there."

Sasuke frowned, yet felt a small spark of hope in his chest. "Who's she?"

Masamune gave the elder Takeda ward a flat look.

"My mother."

* * *

Somehow, they all squeezed onto Azure and made their precarious way to the hospital. Thankfully, it was only a short five-minute drive to the emergency half of the establishment. Sasuke stubbornly remained silent throughout the entire trip while Yukimura fretted about being caught by police. They arrived at the front of the emergency ward and Masamune lost his nerve.

"Maybe I should just visit her on another day…" _Or never._

Yukimura pushed both Masamune's and Sasuke's backs. "Sasuke, come on. We're just getting your arm wrapped up and then we'll meet Masamune's mother-"

"No."

"No."

Both Sasuke and Masamune gave each other a look then said 'stop copying me' in unison again.

Yukimura laughed and gave them a final shove into the hospital.

"Hi, we need a doctor to see my brother," Yukimura gestured at Sasuke who had turned rather peaky upon entry. "And, we're also here to see Masamune Date's mother."

The nurse behind the counter gave the three a look and smiled gently. "Of course. May I see some identification?" The question she directed to the boy with the eye-patch that Yukimura had gestured at.

Masamune handed the woman his driver's licence and waited as she fiddled around with her computer before handing the card back.

"This way," the nurse said to Sasuke.

"Can we come?" Asked Yukimura. He gave his best set of puppy eyes.

The nurse laughed. "Of course. If it's just a few stitches, you both can come."

They followed the nurse down a corridor then up a flight of stairs. This floor was much busier than the one before and stank of antiseptic.

Sasuke's head swam. Being in the hospital brought back memories from before the orphanage. The same smell, the same lights, the same noises…

And needles.

Needles, needles, needles…

"Sasuke, are you alright? You look like you're about to throw up."

Sasuke threw Masamune a withering look before retreating back into his nightmare of drugs and cruel assassin training.

_Remember the friends you had… remember Kasuga… and Fuma…_

Sasuke sucked in deep breaths through his nose, exactly how his training had taught him. He wasn't relaxing, but he wasn't panicking either.

"Alright, kid. I'd like you to sit down on the bench." Sasuke blinked. The front nurse lady had already left him with a middle-aged doctor with glasses. Sasuke and Masamune sat on a pair of seats a little ways away. They both gave him reassuring smiles.

Well, Yukimura did. Masamune just gave him a slightly reassuring expression. If the eye-patched man _had_ smiled at him, Sasuke thought he might have gone into cardiac arrest right then and there thinking it was some sort of screwed up nightmare.

He wasn't dreaming, right?

"Sasuke, right?" The elder Takeda ward's head whipped around to face the doctor so fast he was afraid his neck would snap. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

Sasuke looked down and instantly wished he didn't.

His forearm had swollen considerably and the agreement cuts were open and inflamed; the most recent two were leaking pus. Motochika's hand had caused most of the swelling; the bruises were a rich purple now and in the perfect likeness of the bruiser's appendage.

"You know, we can get fingerprints off your arm if you've kept your arm wrapped up fine." The doctor looked earnestly at Sasuke who quickly shook his head.

"No, don't. It was… I ran into some… trouble," Sasuke finished lamely. "I knew it was going to happen."

The doctor took one look at Sasuke and sighed.

"You know, I stitch up plenty of gang members here," Sasuke stiffened at the words and resisted the urge to turn around and look at Yukimura. "You're one of the cleaner cases. And I know exactly what is on your arm."

When Sasuke gave no reply, the doctor sighed once more. "I'll just give your arm a local anaesthetic…"

He began rummaging around in drawers while Sasuke sat despondently, refusing to meet the burning gaze boring into the side of his head.

"Sasuke, are you…?" Yukimura was suddenly by the russet-haired man's side.

Sasuke looked up in surprise.

_Are you Tenko Kamen?_

Slowly, Sasuke nodded once and Yukimura gave him a brilliant smile.

"Thank you," Yukimura wrapped his arms around his brother and squeezed gently. He felt his older brother bury his face into his shoulder and wrap his right arm around his waist. "Thank you for being my brother."

"Ah, here we go." The doctor flicked his needle a couple of times and turned around.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

**Reviews are like shits to fans ;)**


	13. Meeting The Parents

Love, the Cassette Tape

**Warnings: torture ahead. If you're squeamish (I certainly hope not because that's one of the key parts of the story), skip the third segment. Afraid of angsty mad ramblings? Avoid this chapter all together. I blame one drugged up Mitsunari and Yoshihime (Masamune's mum).**

**Read and review, please.**

**Full Title: Meeting The Parents**

* * *

Yukimura felt Sasuke's arm go rigid around him and then some force had thrown him forwards and Sasuke off the bed. He thought for a moment that an earthquake had hit but then his front impacted with the padded bench Sasuke had been sitting on and his breath came out in a whoosh and all coherent thought swiftly followed.

Yukimura dimly heard Masamune call out his name, then his brother's. What was going on? Yukimura's lungs sputtered back to life with a cough and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" asked the doctor. Yukimura nodded and then the adult made for the tangle of thrashing limbs and hoarse shouts on the floor before them.

"Sasuke!" Yukimura choked out and helped pin down his brother. His strength almost failed him when he saw the state of Sasuke.

His eyes had gone glassy and dead, with only a cold desire to kill lighting the green depths. His face had twisted into a mask of fear where only the instinct to survive remained.

_This_ was Tenko Kamen.

The myth that killed so many people, all for the betterment of the Ruby Claws. The man who had known Yukimura for practically all of his life and the one who raised him, the one he confided in.

"Just knock him out already!" Masamune shouted at the doctor who was trying to find an opportunity to wrap a mask around Sasuke's mouth. Yukimura dumbly held down his thrashing brother, but even as the mask was on, Sasuke still wasn't stopping.

The doctor frowned. "That dose should be enough to knock out a man three times his size." The doctor received a Converse sole to the face as Sasuke flailed yet again. Yukimura jumped on his brother's legs, holding then down with the weight of his own torso.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Sasuke's movements became sluggish and he stopped moving. The doctor hurriedly pulled off the mask and pulled on a pair of stethoscopes. Lifting Sasuke's shirt, he monitored his breathing.

Masamune stared with incredulity at the amount of scars on the elder Takeda ward's body, as was Yukimura. While the Crimson Tiger was Sasuke's brother, he hadn't inherently seen Sasuke with his shirt off. Seeing the faded ropy scars now made Yukimura wonder exactly how much he knew about his brother.

"He's alright, but I'll be monitoring his vitals until he wakes up. That was a lot of chloroform I had him take." The doctor rubbed his neck tiredly.

"Can you just stitch him up now?" Masamune said with just as much energy.

"Yep, I'll just take him to another room." The doctor then left to get a pair of paramedics and a stretcher.

The room was silent, broken only by Sasuke's deep breathing.

Then Yukimura began crying. Actually bawling.

"Shh, shh… It's all over, Yukimura." Masamune scrambled over to hug the younger brunet.

"I-it's happened twice now!" Yukimura wailed before collapsing into more sobs. "I don't have anywhere to go now!"

"Yukimura, you idiot. Just ask and I'd give you anything." Masamune couldn't bear to see Yukimura crying. As cute as it was, it broke his heart.

Yukimura stilled in Masamune's arms.

"Really?"

"Yep."

The younger of the two sniffled and drew away from Masamune.

"Can I stay with you until Sasuke or Shingen get out of the hospital?" Yukimura looked up at Masamune with hopeful, dewy eyes.

Masamune wished he had brought a camera.

"**Of course**."

* * *

Mitsunari found himself before a glass window with a yellow sign above emblazoned with 'Mikawa Delivery Service'.

Where was Ieyasu…?

Must have left, must have left.

What to do? What to do?

_Burn the place down, Moondrop._ His inner demon guardian said.

Why are you here? You're never here when I'm asleep when I'm all alone with my nightmares. You're never here when I have to be sane.

Why are you here?

_But I love you, Moondrop. That's why._

You do not.

His lungs burned.

Mitsunari raised his hand and swallowed air. A fresh breath of air.

Why did Ieyasu kill Hideyoshi? Why do I have to keep it going? My revenge, that is.

If I kept on burning with revenge, would I burn away leaving nothing but vapours like gasoline?

_No. Don't think that way. Hanbei is right. He's always right._

Mitsunari frowned and stared at the demon in the window.

I never mentioned Hanbei.

_But he's right. Ieyasu is always wrong. Always wrong._

Mitsunari frowned.

I actually liked Ieyasu for a while.

_Hm? How so?_

He was nice. He tried to talk to me at least.

_And how did everyone else react?_

They thought I was a nutter.

_Exactly. That proves it._

Proves what?

_Proves that you've only got me._

How?

_Because Ieyasu is just like everyone else. He is everyone else._

Huh? That can't be right…

_It is and you know it, Moondrop._

But I am me. Wouldn't Ieyasu be him as well? How would that make him everyone else? Everyone is different.

_That's what they think. I don't think that way and look at me._

You talk to me. That's all you talk to.

_I talk to many people, Moondrop._

Don't tell me you're God or something.

_Of course not. I'm the farthest from God._

Really? How so?

_I do not create. I do not destroy. I do not think, therefore I am not. I do not wish. I do not harm. I only __give__ men what they want. This is what makes me farthest from God._

You talk to me in my head.

_Yes._

So if you're farthest from God, God is God, then who am I?

_Mitsunari, the man who set the Mikawa Delivery Service on fire._

Mitsunari watched as flames engulfed the small brick building squished between two big towers.

* * *

Ieyasu Tokugawa woke to a splitting headache.

He let his eyes remain shut, allowing his frazzled thoughts to recollect.

Empty shop. Went for a run. Attacked by…

"Motochika!" Ieyasu blurted, his eyes opening wide open before squeezing shut again.

There was a lamp being shone in his face. If he was correct, he was sitting in a chair with his hands taped to a table. Duct tape wrapped around his ankles too and a long rope squeezed his insides to a chair back.

"Glad you're back, Ieyasu." Motochika growled somewhere in front of him.

"I don't feel glad to be back." He mumbled.

"Good." There was a sudden thunk and just as Ieyasu was about to wonder what had happened, intense pain made its way to Ieyasu's mind.

He bit back a shriek of pain as the knife embedded in both the table and the web of skin between his thumb and index finger was removed roughly.

"You'll get what you deserve."

Ieyasu raised his brows in shock.

"What did I do? And since when were you on the side of the Silver Blades?" Ieyasu added accusingly.

"You near bludgeoned my second in command to death." Snarled Motochika who threw his knife again, which sliced the web of flesh in the same place on the opposite hand. Ieyasu let out a strangled yelp of pain before biting his lip to stifle the noise.

"I didn't do anything like that!" Ieyasu yelled. He was right, of course.

"Did you actually ask the guy I supposedly beat up if it was me who did it?"

Motochika sat opposite to Ieyasu, shadowed in darkness. He languidly ran the tip of the blade over Ieyasu's fingers one at a time, leaving crimson lines of red. Soon enough, the space of table beneath Ieyasu's hands was drenched in blood. The tape securing him in place was also blood-smeared.

"His jaw was too broken to talk."

Ieyasu gasped as the waves of pain washed over his senses.

"Then… you can't prove… that it was me… who did it." Ieyasu's head spun but he knew in order to survive this interrogation, he needed to stay alert.

"Hm…? So who do you suggest did do it?" Motochika accentuated the last word with a deep gash over Ieyasu's knuckles.

"I don't know! Someone from the Silver Blades, maybe. They're the only ones that really hate the Gold Suns." Ieyasu snapped. Pain was really making him short. Especially if it was inflicted by a friend. Ex-friend. Ieyasu didn't know anymore.

"Maybe it was one of your men. I hear that a couple used to be part of the Silver Blades!" Mean wasn't one of Ieyasu's strong points, but his brutal honesty made up for it more than enough.

"I don't believe you." Motochika's eyes narrowed. "Be careful with what you say because…" He made a little twist of the blade stuck between the web of Ieyasu's ring finger and pinkie. "You're not in the best of positions right now."

Ieyasu made an odd choking noise then rapidly sucked in air to calm himself. His whole body was shaking badly, rattling the chair he sat on.

"How am I your friend?" The brunet muttered under his breath.

Motochika couldn't understand why his heart thudded painfully at that rhetorical question.

Then Motochika's phone rang.

"Hello? I'm in the middle of something."

'_Boss, you wouldn't believe this but your second is awake. He wrote something.'_

Motochika waited expectantly.

'_Uh… well it's hard to make out but I think he wrote "a couple of Silver Blades were paid to do this to me".' _

Motochika's eyes widened a fraction.

"You had better not be joking." He threatened.

'_N-no, Aniki! Why would we lie to you?'_

Motochika was silent for a moment. Then he glanced back at the man taped to the bloody table.

'_Oh, wait. He's writing something else.'_

The faint scratching of a pen somewhere to the right of the phone could be heard and Motochika waited impatiently for an answer, stomach rolling.

'_It says "Yoshitsugu started it". And… "I hope you're not doing anything to Ieyasu Tokugawa."'_

Motochika dropped his phone and bolted out of the room to find the closest bathroom. He managed to get to the corner of the stairwell before throwing up.

Trembling, Motochika forced himself to keep walking down the stairs. Then his legs gave out after a few flights and he collapsed on the stained concrete stairwell. God, he had been so stupid!

_Why don't I think before I do things? _Motochika thought to himself.

"Chosokabe? What are you doing here?" Motochika's eyes snapped open to see Mori Motonari walk up the stairwell with a plastic bag of groceries in hand.

The brunet sighed and walked up the remainder of the stairs, offering a slim hand.

"Well, are you coming?"

* * *

Masamune and Yukimura sat in the corridor on hard plastic and metal chairs. Yukimura's hand was within Masamune's larger one, and the elder of the two was gently brushing the milky skin of the other's with a thumb.

"We should go see your mother." Masamune's thumb stopped moving.

"No. I don't want to see her." He said resolutely.

Yukimura smiled.

"We can go see Shingen after this." Yukimura offered. Masamune sighed.

"I'm just not on good terms with Yoshi." He finally said.

"That's no problem." Said the smaller brunet and he stood, still holding Masamune's hand.

Masamune looked up at his friend.

"You won't leave me?" He asked in a voice that was mostly whisper.

Yukimura slowly shook his head.

_Crack._ That was the shattering of the Azure Dragon's façade.

"I… love you." Masamune mumbled, shutting his eyes and trying in vain to prevent his tears from falling.

Yukimura released his hand.

Oh, god… He was going to leave now.

The long-haired boy wrapped his arms around Masamune and pressed a gentle kiss into his cheek.

"Come on."

They walked up flights of stairs, around wards and people, past open room and closed doors until they reached one particular door that read "Yoshi Date".

Masamune and Yukimura shared a glance. _Go on,_ said Yukimura's look.

So Masamune, the disowned child of the Date family, the hated son of Yoshi, opened the door to his mother's hospital room.

"Masa…mune…"

Yoshi's upstretched hands fell away from the sky and landed with a weak thump on the covers of her bed as the machines that surrounded her flat lined.

* * *

Mrs Date wasn't really Mrs Date. Mrs Date was Yoshi. Yoshi, not Mrs Date.

Her vision was hazy when she opened her eyes. She remembered collapsing at the airport with all its loud noises and sharp colours and foul smells. Kojiro was there too and she felt him beside her too, clutching her hand.

Where was her baby?

She had always thought of the beautiful first born baby she had had but then there was her sickness of smallpox straight after. She was locked away for such a long time!

Where was her baby?

Then one day they let her out of the room into the bird cage of rehabilitation. They told her she was still very sick and she couldn't see her child.

When, she'd ask. When?

Soon, they'd say. Soon.

Darling, darling, little starling… wherefore art thou?

Then her child had become ugly. It was smallpox (didn't she just have it?).

I gave it to him, I gave it to him.

My darling baby, where are you?

It would look at her with her own eyes and say 'Mama, Mama'.

But I'm not your Mama.

I don't have a doll with one eye.

You're not mine.

The ceiling was blurring before her eyes, the edges losing the colour. The dun-white colour.

'Mama, Mama, why don't you love me?'

Because I don't have a child with one eye.

How could you be him, if you were incomplete?

'Mama, Mama, I have some flowers.'

Sorry, thing. I'm allergic.

No really.

Don't look at me like that.

You're just a broken doll.

You're not my son.

My son is perfect.

Then she had her second son: Kojiro.

_This one I'll make sure that he won't be broken._ She thinks.

This is my second son.

Perfect.

But where is my darling baby?

Darling, darling, baby starling. Where are you my little bird?

Where are you?

I've looked everywhere!

In the house.

Under the rocks.

In the pond.

Up the tree.

You couldn't be in the sky.

It's too large it hurts to look at.

So never go there.

Darling, darling, lovely starling. Why do you hide?

Her vision was dark now. She could still hear Kojiro calling her name.

Yoshi.

Yoshi, Yoshi, Yoshi.

She really wanted the name 'Hoshi'.

Star.

Darling, darling, dearest starling. Why did you fly away?

'Where is my baby?'

"Yoshi, I'm right here!"

'Where is my baby?'

"Your baby Kojiro is right here!"

Where is my dearest

.

My beautiful

.

My perfect

.

"Masa…mune…"

.

.

.

And Yoshi Date breathed her last.


	14. Six (S)Words

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Massive Date bitch-fight straight ahead. Be prepared to either laugh your head off or be extremely offended. I don't do this intentionally, so please no flames.**

**Much of the Date sibling fight is inspired by Mosaic Role (Mozaik Roll) – GUMI, Vocaloid song.**

**Shorter chapters until further notice. ; n ;**

**Full Title: Six (S)Words**

* * *

Masamune felt sick.

He hadn't heard. His ears weren't right.

His mother – the one who shunned him, pushed him away, and refused his love – did NOT just call his name.

Kojiro – that genius, suck-up, ass-kissing bastard – sat there completely shocked, staring at the mother (who had loved him so much more than his older brother) that had called the name of Masamune with her dying breath.

And here he thought _he _was the most beloved out of the two.

"What's going on?" Yukimura asked in a small voice and the two other men in the room cast their gaze over to the fluffy-haired waiter standing in the doorway.

Yukimura jolted as if he were stung by electricity. The likeness between the two siblings was almost alarming.

Both of them had the same curve to their jaw, the same skin tone, and while Kojiro looked more cultured and sophisticated than Masamune with his neater haircut and smarter clothes, they both held a wild spark in their eye – not unlike the glare of a predator.

However, it burned brighter in Masamune's eye.

"Who is _he_?" growled Kojuro.

Masamune's mouth jumped down into its customary scowl reserved for the most distasteful of men. "My boyfriend. Got a problem?" Masamune snarled.

Kojiro's expression tightened as Yukimura's reddened.

Okay, he hadn't expected that.

"Yes. This room is open to relatives only," Kojiro's lip curled. "That means you both have to get out."

Masamune bristled and Yukimura could feel the waves of fury rolling off the eye-patched man. "I don't see why _I_ have to, I mean, I do have the last name Date."

Yukimura stepped aside as Masamune leaned out into the hallway to check the tag on the door. "Well, that settles it. It says 'Yoshi Date'. Seeing as I'm Masamune _Date_, I guess that means I can step inside the room."

Kojiro scowled heavily at his elder brother then smoothed his expression to one of neutrality. It was time for a battle of words with his dear sibling.

And words are weapons in the Date family.

"So… How _has_ it been, elder brother? What are doing nowadays… are you even _employed_?"

Masamune smirked.

"Of course I am. I have a job that allows me to travel all around the area and I'm fairly happy with what I have."

"Yet you still have your childhood nanny by your side and your terrible temper. I wonder how much Kojuro had to pay father to let you continue to live in this dump of a city."

Masamune's jaw tightened.

"At least I'm not draining my parents dry of their money, sending me to fancy schools and buying expensive trash. I wonder if you can stand on your own two feet now that mummy's gone." Masamune jeered, a cold smirk painted on his face. He was not as confident as he appeared on the outside as he was in.

Masamune was not scared. He was terrified. Not once in their entire lives together had Masamune won a single verbal fight with his younger brother. Kojiro put it down to Masamune's inadequate education (which Masamune was, at times, quite proud of), while Masamune put it down to his short temper. A battle of wits led to a fist fight which led to beatings. Such was the life of the young Masamune Date.

"Besides, how is life in that whore-house called Shuu-o Town? Joined one of them yet?"

Certain words have piercing strength, as they say.

Kojiro's eyes widened in shock then his nostrils flared in anger.

"Hit the nail on the head, have I?" Masamune quipped, plastering his shark's-grin on his face. Motochika called it his shit-eating smile, but Masamune digresses.

Kojiro reddened slightly and a vein pulsed at his temple. Masamune was now in unfamiliar territory. He had never angered Kojiro this much before.

"I see that perhaps _you_ need to lower yourself to such levels to get by in life," Kojiro's expression turned devil-like.

"Don't tell me… That one," Kojiro gestured at Yukimura standing in the hallway yet still enraptured by the battle taking place before him. "Is one of your clients?"

Yukimura's jaw dropped. This started like a train wreck, now it was like an iceberg to the Titanic. Both events horrifyingly horrible, yet it was impossible not to watch.

Masamune let out a threatening growl, one that Kojiro returned with his own smug grin.

Things were about to turn ugly.

"Why are you asking, dear brother? Out of business?" Masamune hissed back in a chilling voice that Yukimura found hard to identify as the eye-patched man before him. "Well, sorry about that. He's mine."

Kojiro let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Here I thought you had run here to… what's his name? Motochika…? That pirate?"

Masamune remained frozen in his spot at the door. There was an element of truth in the statement though any indication of otherwise would probably lead to more disastrous events.

"Why _did_ you come all the way here, elder brother? Did a client scare you away or did you come back for a quick fuck with your pirate friend?" Kojiro continued with ill-concealed glee.

Masamune scowled. "At least I still have a semblance of love. In _that_ house all I got was the back of hands and poison."

Yukimura blinked in surprise. Masamune didn't deny the claim, so it must have been true. His face fell with the realisation that perhaps Masamune hadn't been entirely forthcoming with his former bed-mates.

Masamune's back stiffened then straightened with feigned realisation. "Though, I hesitate to find out what will happen to you now that mummy and daddy are gone for you. You don't have any friends, do you?"

Kojiro's eyes narrowed to grey slits. "I don't need friends. All I need are connections and that is what I have. Besides," Kojiro's head tilted upwards in contempt. "It looks like you haven't told your… attachment about your former love life."

Masamune hesitated. Turn and reassure Yukimura? But that would mean that Kojiro was right and he could use it as leverage to win this fight. On the other hand, to not would spell disaster for his budding relationship with Yukimura.

He turned.

His eyes said 'I'll tell you later. I love you.'

Masamune dearly hoped that Yukimura wasn't as dense as he had been and that he was susceptible to eye messages.

Yukimura read Masamune's eye and soul. He then understood the importance of winning this battle. It would give closure to Masamune's horrid childhood and open a new world for the two of them.

"So?" Masamune said with false nonchalance. "It's not his problem with who I slept with. Neither is it yours."

Rage broiled through Kojiro's silver eyes as they glared venomously at his elder brother.

How dare he think that his problems were not his own! He was his older brother – the failure of the Date family. His actions reflected badly upon both him and the medicine company.

The shorter of the two stormed forward, the other advancing from the doorway to meet him in the middle of the room.

"Are you sure you want to have this argument on the bedside of _our_ mother's deathbed?" Masamune remarked snidely, a cruel grin creeping up his features.

"You started it, dear elder brother." Kojiro hissed back, fists clenching.

Yukimura's attention was broken briefly by hurried footsteps clacking up the stairwell nearby, but his eyes soon returned to the scene before him.

Masamune had clamped Kojiro's arms to his sides and had leaned in near his brother's ear. Yukimura saw a glimmer of silver behind the younger Date sibling's back and he opened his mouth to warn Masamune, though he was too late.

And then Masamune Date used his fatal six words against his flesh and blood.

"**She loved me more than you**."

It was low, yes. But it contained the harshest part of truth that Masamune could throw at Kojiro. There was a flash of insanity within the younger's despair-stricken face, then it warped into a mask of fury.

The scalpel in Kojiro's hand flashed up in the harsh light of the halogen strips and plunged downwards toward Masamune's widening left eye as he processed the sharpened strip of steel making its descent toward his one step from blindness.

A shoulder clipped Yukimura hard from behind as a huge man in a Hawaiian floral shirt, fishing shorts and flip-flops charged past and dragged Masamune just out of reach. His shock of white hair obscured what happened next but Masamune was pushed aside as Kojiro made a peculiar sound, almost akin to a wheezy squeak, and then fell slack. The scalpel clattered to the lino floor with a dull noise.

Yukimura looked up from his hands and knees on the floor where he had gone sprawling and the battle part of his brain assessed the situation where the normal part of consciousness went something like:

Whaaaa…?

Masamune was breathing hard, his shoulders rigid, and Yukimura could see a thin sheen of fear-sweat upon his skin.

"This ish why I hate dealin' wit family spatshs in dis hoshpital!" complained the white-haired man in tourist gear. "'Orrible doctors' workin' standards sez I. I should ask fer a raise."

Both Yukimura and Masamune blinked in surprise. This old geezer, who both looked like some misplaced tourist and smelt like a bar after an earthquake, was a _doctor_?!

Shouldn't he have better English skills, at least?

"Yoshihiro Shimazu. I take dat _you're_," Shimazu pointed a gnarled finger at Masamune. "The older Date kid?"

Masamune could only nod in agreement.

"Good. I've been lookin' for ya ev'rywhere. I'm yer father's private practitioner and since he'z kicked the bucket, I'm 'ere to tell youse that me services are at yer beck 'n call," Shimazu nodded once and crossed his thick, browned arms with satisfaction.

"Oh, and that most likely you'll be gettin' the family company."

They sat quietly in the corridor, much like how they were when they left Sasuke – Yukimura filled with unbridled energy with the urge for action, and Masamune content to just sit and play with Yukimura's hands.

Masamune could sense the repressed question that Yukimura was certain to ask, but after his row with his brother, the will to talk had been sapped from him.

May as well get it over with.

"Motochika and I were sleeping together for a month before I moved to Shuu-o Town," Yukimura instantly settled down and waited patiently for Masamune to continue his confession. "It was right after Kojuro told me that we were relocating permanently."

"I was living separately from my family with Motochika in a tiny apartment in the south. My only contact with the Date family was Kojuro. He was my caretaker ever since I was four and that's why we're still close now." Masamune paused to breathe. This was where things were going to get messy.

"We both understood that it was a 'friends with benefits' set-up but our gangs figured it out fairly quickly," Masamune let out a short bark of laughter. "I think they were waiting for that kind of thing to happen between us. Why? I don't know."

"So we allied our gangs against the tension in the city and then a couple of weeks later, the Toyotomi fallout happened. Moving date rolled around and I left Motochika. That's all." Masamune tilted his head slightly to observe Yukimura as the young waiter digested this new information.

He would be lying if he claimed he didn't see hurt on Yukimura's face.

"We haven't done anything to each other since then, Yukimura." He squeezed the smaller hand in his grasp.

Internally, Masamune was cursing himself.

He should have expected Kojiro to bring up something like his cooled relationship with Motochika. He should never have brought Yukimura with him.

The waiter's warm hand slipped out of his own grasp and Masamune knew then that he wasn't going to come back.

"I-I'll come back… I just need to take a walk." Yukimura muttered with conviction, sounding as if he needed to convince himself more than his friend.

Masamune nodded once, his only eye hidden by brown bangs. Yukimura spared a glance at Masamune's black eye-patch staring at him blankly before turning heel and making his way out of the doors.

Masamune gritted his teeth and his silence was broken by a single, "**Damn it**."

* * *

**Reviews are like the Dragon Claws to Masamune. **


	15. Gender Confusion and an Identity Crisis

Love, The Cassette Tape

**I am not a science student. I don't take any science at all – all I know is 'Do not drink from the bottles under the sink'. Now guess what's going to happen. :)**

**Full Title: Where Yukimura and Masamune Have a Case of Gender Confusion and Sasuke Has an Identity Crisis**

* * *

Yukimura wandered the halls of the hospital. The nurses that he passed gave him a brief, questioning look that melded into understanding. There were many a man who walked the corridors of the hospital looking just as he.

It was the look of one in need of an answer that only they could find by themselves.

Yukimura knew he should have seen something like this happen, but perhaps not in this sort of fashion. He himself had deduced in their first proper meeting in Yukimura's apartment that Masamune would have had a long train of other lovers and it was naïve of him to think that he would have been any different in the eye-patched man's eyes. What made it worse was that Motochika was one of his good friends too.

A hollow feeling gnawed at his chest has he paced the hallways. Where was Sasuke when he needed him?

Yukimura halted mid-step.

Now that he thought of it, this was the first time that Sasuke wasn't by his side, even if Yukimura didn't know it himself before. And now he was complaining that Sasuke wasn't by his side. Guilt washed over him.

Every step of his life had been sheltered by someone, whether his doting, now-deceased birth parents, his vociferous foster father or his attentive older brother. The thought of being an immature, even spoilt, child in the affairs of the real world left a sour taste in his mouth.

_Absolutely no survival skills._

The words of both Sasuke and Masamune returned and jabbed him harshly in his pride.

Yukimura resumed his aimless pacing of the hospital, lost in his thoughts when he heard a plaintive squall from the ward ahead. Yukimura glanced in and saw row upon row of clear cribs, each filled with a tiny, breathing bundle.

The maternity ward.

Unthinking, Yukimura walked into the room filled with newborns and approached the nearest child. This one was tiny, compared to the others that surrounded him (according to the tag on the crib) and his miniature face pinched in what looked remarkably like concern. He was small enough that he could fit into both of Yukimura's hands alone and the tiny fingers fisted the white cloth that clothed him.

Yukimura felt his expression soften as the baby burbled again, muffled slightly by plexiglass. The baby reached out and grasped at air.

"Oh, he's a cute one, isn't he?" A nurse smiled at him a row over and Yukimura jumped, looking around guiltily.

The nurse laughed prettily and walked over.

"This one's been having sleeping problems but he seems to have calmed down a little," she said before looking up with humour glittering in her brown eyes. "And don't worry, I know you came in just then so there's nothing to worry about."

Yukimura smiled appreciatively at the nurse then turned his attention back to the baby.

He was so surprised that he had been just like this child at the beginning of his conception – a tiny, helpless baby that could fit into a shoebox. Yukimura contemplated the events that would shape this sleeping bundle's life and realised that his own were fairly trivial compared to the grand scheme of things.

Still…

"You look like you have something on your mind." Yukimura's head shot up with surprise and the nurse smiled.

"Kind of."

"Is it a relationship problem?"

'Problem' might be saying it lightly.

"Well… yes."

Now he was getting relationship advice from a nurse. In a maternity ward.

The nurse looked at Yukimura expectantly and he didn't have the heart to push her away. Besides, what was a little bit of guidance from a nurse?

"My… girl…friend. I just found out that h-she's slept with one of my good friends. I don't know what to do." Yukimura said in halting terms as he felt heat rush into his cheeks. The nurse's expression became thoughtful.

"Did she admit this to you on their own volition?" Yukimura fiddled with the tag on the baby's crib.

"…Yes, but it still came as a shock. Because he just admitted that I was their boyfriend an hour ago."

"…He?"

Yukimura looked up in alarm.

"She! I meant she!" He laughed nervously but the nurse gained a knowing look in her eye.

"Anyway, _she_ said that during some huge family spat with hi-her brother over their mother's deathbed." The nurse had a puzzled expression on her face. She mouthed _mother's deathbed_ before wiping the frown off her face a replacing it with a smile, as if she had figured something out.

"…What?"

'What, 'what'?" The nurse replied in kind.

"…Nothing. What should I do? I don't know how to answer hi-her."

The nurse smiled benignly and pointed at the open door. "I think you're a bit confused as to why she told you in the first place. She wants you to forgive her for that. She didn't tell you because she wants you to hate her, she testing you to see if you'll stay by her side no matter what happens."

Yukimura's gaze followed the nurse's finger. "So…?" The woman looked back at the brunet with disbelief.

"Go!" The nurse waved her hands at Yukimura and he took a surprised step backwards. "Go back and say you're sorry and that you love him!"

Yukimura scurried out of the ward, feeling as if he had been chased out of an empty restaurant after closing hours. He took half a dozen steps before stopping with a puzzled expression on his face.

Did that nurse just say 'him'?

With a confused frown, Yukimura continued his walking path, contemplating whether or not they were talking about a man or woman in the entirety of their conversation.

* * *

_Darkness pressed on Sarutobi – thick and smothering like a blanket of smoke. Sleep was much like this in his early years, ever since he could toddle the length of a corridor (which was very early on, mind you). In this cloying pitch was the omnipresent sound of medical beeping – neet, neet, neet. Sarutobi hated it._

_His muscles hurt – every single one of them. He imagined his bones creaking at every move. He had already broken most of his bones in the short six years of his life, and he even remembered the last break; shattered white and red, burning pain. He still had the purpled three-inch scar on his right ribcage. _

_Whispers filtered in and out of his hearing as fuzzy shapes appeared through the darkness. The indistinct shape of a whitecoat solidified above him and reached down toward him black-mouthed and gaping. Sarutobi drew away but the whitecoat's arm turned into a syringe. Neet-neet-neet-neet!_

_Sarutobi slowly righted himself and shuffled to the side, away from the sharp point. The whitecoat reached again and Sarutobi let himself be dragged onto his feet and led like a defeated pup to the Training Room. _

_He passed Kasu – a short, gold mop of light that shied from Sarutobi's whitecoat. Her dead, bronze eyes met with Sarutobi's and even from a few feet away, he could smell the stench of fresh sweat and cum with his enhanced senses. _

_He winced. He should know that his training was the least psychologically damaging out of the three of them. But the last twenty-three who underwent his training had all died. According to the messages coming from his body, he was nearing that final step as well. At least he knew he had been sold as a child rather than kidnapped from hospitals like Kasu. _

_Sarutobi and Kasu parted ways, each through their own swinging, sterile door. _

_Today was running day. One maze, one-hundred tests. Electrified wire in the floor, mystery gasses, booby-trapped pressure plates, baking temperature._

_Sarutobi loved these days. _

_It was better than water day and dark day._

_The whitecoat left him in the prep room. Prep room for an undetermined time to find a way through a continuously redesigned maze one-hundred times. _

_The door opened again and a different whitecoat led Fuma out. Sarutobi shot him a furtive look of sympathy – he was never quite sure if the other red-haired boy was looking – before he was led out of the prep room._

_Fuma was meant to be the perfect spy. All of them were, they were just trained in different ways so it seemed more like Kotaro was the best secret keeper, Kasu the best interrogator and Sarutobi the perfect assassin. _

_It sickened him on a daily basis._

_There was a harsh siren and the steel doors before him flew open. Sarutobi took off, the fog of sleep wiped away instantly with the sizzling jolt of electricity-charged wires below his bare feet. He stifled a scream and forced himself to run further._

_Blissfully, the barbed spark-wire turned into normal concrete floor and Sarutobi took the second right. The floor depressed just under his toes and he launched himself forward, gas hissing from pipes behind him a moment later. He straightened out of his roll and kept running. He'd rather not look and see what the vapour did. _

_Another right, then a left and Sarutobi hit a dead end. He doubled back and ran down the opposite grey corridor and he saw a strange red flicker before him._

_He ducked beneath the heat lasers stretched across the hallway and slid to a stop on the other side, staring at it in horror. _

_That was new._

_Apparently, the whitecoats thought he had enough rest and flooded the halls with ankle-deep water. Sarutobi spat out cold liquid, a welcome repose to the stifling heat. His new problem was the constant stream of electricity coursing into him via his ankles. _

_Sarutobi gasped, crawling to his feet again. He couldn't bear to think that he had to undergo repeated tests like this another ninety-nine times. His feet burned and he turned several more times, trusting his instincts to lead him to safety. Then he saw the red sign of exit and he felt tears well up in his eyes. _

_His foot caught in something. In the split second where he looked down to see razor wire lacerate his ankle, he heard a rasping thunk in the walls beside him. Huge sheets of metal swung out aimed at his neck to snip Sarutobi's head off as if it were nothing but a loose thread._

* * *

Sasuke shot upright with a strangled shout. He had tripped on the razor wire, and that was what saved him that day. He was out of that white and grey place full of the needles and tests and endless mazes. All of them were.

His head fell into his hands and he struggled to control his breathing. Sasuke hadn't dreamt of his early childhood in a very long time.

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke raised his head from trembling hands to look at Masamune Date who stood at his doorway.

"Bad dream?" The eye-patched man drew a chair near and sat, looking intently at the elder Takeda ward. Sasuke nodded slowly and lay back in the standard hospital bed. The walls here were a dull green, and the stench of antiseptic was rank in his nostrils. He noticed that he was still in his normal clothes, though his headband, shoes and socks were missing.

"You know, you're awake pretty quick for an average person. The doctor gave you knockout gas for someone three times your size, you see." Masamune tilted his head when Sasuke let out a short bark of laughter.

"I'm not an average person."

Masamune smirked. "A lot of people say that but they really are just as strange as the person next to them."

Sasuke shook his head. "No. I guess Yukimura hasn't told you that when Shingen adopted the two of us, I was already like this. Then again, Yukimura doesn't know what I went through before I met him. "

And so, Sasuke recounted his tale of the first six years of his life; the experiments, the drugs, and the cold, clinical hopelessness. How he was immune to most poisons and drugs, was engineered to be stronger and faster with heightened sight, hearing and smell. As he spoke, Sasuke realised he had dreamt of the day before the government investigators ransacked the building and freed the experiments.

They all dealt with their pasts differently. Kasu became Kasuga, Sarutobi was renamed Sasuke and Fuma became irrevocably mute. The three of them had been separated but the world was small, as they say.

Then on one fateful day, Sasuke came across a bawling three-year-old in the broom closet.

Some other children in the orphanage they lived in were downright bullies and had shut Yukimura in a cupboard just before dessert. Sasuke had heard them argue with the little brunet, saying he always took too much. They were probably right, but that didn't mean that they had to punish Yukimura by shoving him into a dark, confined space.

Sasuke hadn't wanted any of the chemical sweets the orphanage gave to them so he had wandered off and heard crying. He'd located the boy easily enough and broke the lock on the door which silenced the weeping. Upon easing the door open, Yukimura launched himself out and latched himself onto Sasuke's waist.

"Hey!" Sasuke had cried, and attempted to pry the kid off.

Yukimura wailed louder and sobbed his thanks, burying his wet face deeper into his future brother.

"I was so scared I nearly peed myself!" Snivelled Yukimura and somehow this made Sasuke laugh, and from then on they stuck together, even when adoption prospects appeared.

They shared a chuckle at Yukimura's childhood antics.

"Well, can't really beat that." Masamune said, lost for words.

"Yep. I win the good old sob history every time." Sasuke grinned as he reclined in the hospital bed.

"I still can't believe you're Tenko Kamen. I guess the illegal experimental training helped." Sasuke shrugged with his trademark nonchalance but Masamune could now see the faint lines of amusement and pride in his body language. They shared a companionable silence, both still a little rattled that neither of them wanted to throttle the other.

"Anyway, where's Yukimura?" Masamune's previously open face snapped shut like jaws. Sasuke frowned.

"Did you say something to him?"

The guilt that flashed across the eye-patched man's face spoke volumes. Sasuke sighed inwardly. He was afraid something like this would happen. Yukimura was too innocent and too emotionally sensitive for the external shocks Masamune would inevitably bring.

Well, if you can't beat them, piss the hell out of them.

The tattooed man shrugged. "It's none of my business what you said but Yukimura is my business so I suggest you make up with him. Yukimura's not the type to hold grudges but I think it would help if you cleared the air between you two."

Lo and behold, Sasuke's business knocked on the door.

Masamune whirled around, a little apprehensive of what was to come and surprised that Yukimura came back, even if it was Sasuke's room.

"Oh… you're here."

The atmosphere got awkward fast and Masamune turned away only to find Sasuke 'sleeping' peacefully.

That bastard.

"Were you visiting Sasuke?" Yukimura tentatively asked after a few tense moments passed.

Truthfully, Masamune had wandered the hospital before finding his way to Sasuke's room. He just let himself in just as Sasuke woke from his nightmare.

"Uh… yeah. He's fine as far as I can tell."

"Oh. Okay."

Silence filled the room yet again and Masamune worked up the courage to apologise. Heart pounding, he opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry Masamune, I shouldn't have just left you and I really should have expected something like this to happen." Yukimura blurted before the other could make a sound. Masamune bit his lip. It sounded like the start of a break-up speech.

"No, I really should have been honest from you at the beginning."

They were silent for a moment.

"When was the beginning, anyway?" Yukimura mused aloud.

Masamune chuckled and laughed harder when the other joined in. Masamune glanced at the slumbering Sasuke and thought he saw the corner of his mouth lift in a slight semblance of eavesdropping. Not that Masamune cared anymore.

Yukimura and he were talking again and the mood lightened.

Yukimura reached over and took Masamune's hand. "I'm not going to leave you. I will never leave you."

Finally, there was one person in the world who truly accepted Masamune as he was. Not like Kojuro who had grown to like him. Yukimura was special and Masamune realised he knew this since the day the waiter punched him in the face.

Yukimura leaned forwards and Masamune reached up to brush the waiter's cheekbone which he had seen hit multitudes of times, and yet it was still flawless. Masamune pulled him a little lower so their lips could touch properly.

Masamune angled his head so they could kiss a little easier and Yukimura pressed into the gentle touch.

"I don't think anyone appreciates waking up and seeing someone kissing their brother first thing." Sasuke said sardonically and Yukimura jumped away from Masamune. Masamune glared at Sasuke, and then the look changed into wry amusement.

"Sasuke! How are you feeling?" Sasuke held up a bandaged left arm and smiled.

"I feel fine so no need to worry."

There was another knock at the door and a doctor walked in, looking surprised. He smiled reassuringly at Yukimura who looked at him as if he were awaiting a death sentence.

"I was going to deliver some news and do a check-up on you, but since you're awake I guess you can hear as well." This he directed at Sasuke and he hung a clipboard at the end of the hospital bed.

"First, when did you wake up? Did you feel any nausea?" Sasuke calmly answered 'Just then' and 'No' but Masamune could see the subtle tension in the lines of the elder Takeda ward's body. The doctor continued for some time, asking an odd assortment of questions. He nodded in satisfaction after checking Sasuke's forearm.

"Alright, now for your news."

Yukimura sat in the other guest seat and they waited as the doctor flipped through a couple of pages.

"You seem to be absolutely fine though you woke far before the estimated time for the amount of sedative we gave you, so we're going to have to check up on you in the next few days just in case there are some adverse effects. Other than that, you can go Sasuke." Yukimura cheered and Masamune and Sasuke shared a brief grin.

"Now, seeing as you're the oldest in your family currently, I need to fill you in on what has happened to your foster father since his accident," The doctor continued. "We've found faint traces of potassium cyanide in the coffee and Shingen's bloodstream so we've deduced that someone attempted to poison him to kill. There is an investigation going on but the most likely suspect is your co-worker Kasuga."

Yukimura let out an explosive 'WHAT?!' and began hurling questions at the doctor but Masamune was looking at Sasuke. It was no secret that the tattooed waiter was interested in the huffy blonde but to find out that someone he knew almost all his life had tried to kill the man who had raised him and his beloved brother from childhood had to be overwhelming.

Sasuke was silent, his eyes blank.

"I see…" he muttered to himself and withdrew into his mind for some thinking time. Masamune knew that he was seriously upset at the new information. Sasuke's hands had curled into white-knuckled fists.

"Right now, Kasuga has disappeared but we have the suspicion that she is somewhere close to the college professor Kenshin Uesugi, perhaps even travelling with him."

Masamune had an odd feeling that it wasn't going to be long until Sasuke found Kasuga.

* * *

"Are you sure we can just move in here?"

"Yep!"

Yukimura looked around the clean apartment of Masamune's and felt sorely out of place. Everything was stylishly white or black and Yukimura's vibrant red stood out starkly.

Masamune led the brunet waiter over to his room and opened the door, a spare futon already folded in the corner.

Had to love Kojuro and his timely accommodation skills.

The eye-patched man took Yukimura's back pack and placed it on the floor next to the extra bedding. He sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. Yukimura happily flopped on Masamune's navy covers, dragging Masamune down with him. They stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, each in their own thoughts.

"You know, we could have just slept on the sofas outside." Yukimura said quietly, still a little stunned that they were together. Shingen was still in hospital, Masamune being the leader of the Sapphire Scales, Masamune and Motochika, and Yukimura's realisation that his brother had been beside him the whole time.

Still together.

Yukimura found Masamune's hand and squeezed it. He held on as if a brief wind would blow away this dream and Yukimura would find himself asleep at the sink, washing dishes again.

"It's getting cold and the living room doesn't have heating. You'll be warmer here." Masamune said and he laid a kiss on Yukimura's forehead.

The waiter's hand trailed up to rest on Masamune's face, and traces the outline of the leather eye-patch with interest.

Masamune suddenly grinned. "You told me that you were pretty good at cleaning leather when I was at your place the first time."

Yukimura blinked blankly at him.

"O-oh yeah."

"Never thought it would be from cleaning your Claws jacket so many times." They shared a chuckle.

They lay in silence, listening to the faint traffic noises and the sound of cooking in the kitchen.

Yukimura's stomach growled.

"Lunch time?"

"Yep!"

So they got off Masamune's bed and they walked into the kitchen.

"I can cook fine, thank you very much."

"Yes, but I didn't just come out of hospital, did I?"

"That was the past. I'm fine now."

"But you're still injured."

"Give me three days. THREE. I'll be _fine_!"

"And today is just day one. Go get some rest."

"I'm not sleeping in the middle of the day!"

"Yes, you will."

"Is that a threat?"

Masamune and Yukimura shared a look. Were they arguing over… cooking?

"Looks like you two are having fun."

Sasuke whipped around to find the source of the noise while Kojuro took the momentary relapse to push the tattooed man to the side to chop some carrots with an expression of prolonged suffering.

"It's just lunch."

"And you two argue like an old married couple." Yukimura piped up before going to rummage through the Date DVD collection.

Masamune held in a snort and wished he could record the stricken looks on their faces.

"He's got a point." He managed.

And Masamune Date joined Yukimura Sanada on the couch.

* * *

**Review if you see Masamune and Yukimura as the squabbling, unruly children, Sasuke as the overworked dad, and Kojuro as the suspicious mother in an apron and wooden spoon.**


	16. Wake Up In The Morning Feeling Like

Love, the Cassette Tape

**So screwing with the pairings. I don't even know anymore. –headdesks-**

**Full Title: Wake Up In The Morning Feeling Like…**

* * *

Masamune shivered and shifted on his bed. The worst of winter was coming and he drew the covers closer to his face. The body next to him grumbled and tugged the blankets around himself instead.

…Wait.

"Oi, Yukimura. Aren't you supposed to be sleeping on the floor?" he mumbled as he rolled over properly and wormed his way through the covers to hug the brunet sleeping next to him.

Thank God the kid was like a heater!

Said kid mumbled unintelligibly about it being too cold down there and stuck his nose into Masamune's shirt. Yukimura smiled when Masamune's chest vibrated with a soft chuckle and he looked up into a mercury eye that sparkled with mirth.

"Good morning."

Then Yukimura frowned.

"Masamune, did you know that Sasuke has trouble remembering where he is in the morning?"

Masamune blinked down at his bed mate.

"No, but Kojuro's just got a really bad temper when he wakes up."

…

"This can't end well."

* * *

Sasuke woke, mind still bleary from sleep. He looked up from the mess of blankets around him and saw a different ceiling than usual.

Sasuke shot upright. Bag, towel, bandanna, socks. Missing: shoes. His sleep-fogged brain ran through the list of belongings he would need for a quick getaway.

A rasp of metal on metal – danger!

Sasuke leapt out of the futon (wait… didn't he usually sleep on a bed?) just as the long blade of a sword embedded itself into the wall where his head had just been.

Weapon, he needed a weapon.

The curve of a knife poked out from behind his bag and Sasuke dove for the handle just as his assailant (please don't let it be some horrible new experiment) yanked out the sword blade from the wall. Sasuke made for the door, only for a hand to grasp his hair and painfully pin him to the ground.

He unsheathed the knife and whipped it up to press against his attacker's neck. The silver blade plunged downwards (he was in another maze, wasn't he? Oh dear God, he hadn't escaped, just some twisted drug-induced dream…) and impaled itself in the carpet a centimetre from his neck.

The door opened.

"Kojuro, you need to vent your anger in a different way in the morning," Sasuke looked up to see a grinning eye-patched man. Masamune Date.

Oh. Now he remembered where he was.

Sasuke lowered his knife with a tired sigh. He was (relatively) safe and free, withholding the scarred caretaker pinning him to the floor.

"Masamune, it is too early for your jokes. Go away."

Masamune paused and tapped his chin in a showy fashion. That poser.

"Not really. Well, not for me that is," the eye-patched man shrugged. "Anyway, I'll just leave you to screw my boyfriend's older brother-"

Masamune shut the door on the sword flung in his direction as if he expected it and heard it thunk into the thick wood. He opened it again.

"-and I'll make breakfast."

The door shut again and they were left in darkness.

Kojuro slumped, exhausted more than usual. Sasuke awkwardly patted the older man on the back as Kojuro sighed heavily into his neck, bringing shivers crawling up the ex-experiment's spine.

"Hey, uh… can you…?"

Kojuro gave a noncommittal grunt and crawled back into his futon.

Sitting up, Sasuke wondered if his day could get any stranger. Then he pulled the sword out of the door and hid his knife.

* * *

The Kai Café was back in business. Sasuke and Yukimura had driven the inconspicuous white Toyota to the shop and opened as usual. They were managing well with the café, especially with Masamune's help and Ichi back from the hospital due to a nervous breakdown.

When Sasuke first called her in, she turned up looking more morose than usual.

"Um… is something the matter?" Yukimura asked when he saw Ichi take up her normal place behind the counter with a heavy sigh.

"Oh… nothing you need to worry about." She choked, looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment.

"Yukimura, there are people waiting for you." Sasuke pointedly said and Yukimura left to seat the customers with a backwards glance. Through the entire morning the atmosphere of the café was much heavier than usual. Ichi being the main generator, there were less people walking in and paying.

"Ichi, did something happen while you were away?" Sasuke asked, sitting Ichi down during her break.

"I-it's just that while I was in the hospital, Mr Nagamasa came once and we didn't have a good conversation. Then he hasn't talked to me since!" Finally Ichi burst into tears.

Sasuke sighed. He predicted that something like this would happen. The two of them were so… uncommunicative. They were terrible at saying what was on their minds.

"Okay, Ichi. How about you go home and have a rest; take the day off." Ichi wiped her eyes.

"No. Your father isn't here and if I left, it would be too much to handle." She stood with a determined look in her eyes.

The elder Takeda ward let slip a bemused smile onto his face. Ichi would be okay for the moment.

"Alright. How about we get started again."

Their day continued as usual. Masamune popped in every so often, leaving only for the occasional delivery that Ieyasu texted over. Motochika appeared a little earlier than usual, sitting in the café just as the sun disappeared behind the jagged skyline.

Closing time came and Masamune came in one more time as the last customer left with a tinkling bell. Yukimura was outside, stacking chairs and locking up. Sasuke and Ichi were washing dishes, both exhausted from the day. The dark-haired woman seemed to withdraw deeper and deeper into herself as the light fell.

Finally, Ichi threw down her sponge and slapped wet hands over her face. "I'm so sorry Mr Nagamasa!" she cried to no one and Sasuke stared at her as if she had sprouted ghost arms.

"I-is everything alright?" he asked tentatively.

Ichi sniffled.

"No, everything is not alright!" Ichi wept. "It's all because I asked him to wait, but waiting was just too long."

"That's not true!" Ichi turned around to see one Azai Nagamasa standing in the doorway, beet red.

Masamune walked over to Yukimura who stood at the door, an expectant look on his face.

"What's going on?" Masamune whispered and Yukimura smiled knowingly in response.

"I should never have left you in the hospital, Ichi," Azai said, nervously shifting on his feet. "That was too cruel of me."

Ichi cast her gaze downwards, hair cascading into dark waterfalls around her pale face.

"I asked you for the impossible at the circumstance. It's only fair if you do not want to talk to me again." She said in a near whisper.

"But I do, Ichi! I do want to talk to you more." Azai grasped Ichi's hands and tenderly held them in his own. Ichi let out a soft squeak of surprise and her eyes shot around the café, searching nervously for gawking strangers.

"I want to understand you. I've wanted to for a long time but I've been too nervous to."

"Why would you want to-"

"It's because I love you!" Azai blurted, face an alarming shade of maroon. Ichi blinked in surprise.

"You're lying." Ichi's eyes welled up in tears.

"No, I'm not!" Azai held her hands together as if they were praying. "I really, really love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Ichi blinked in surprise. "What are you saying…?"

Azai released one of Ichi's hands and pulled out a little velvet box.

"What I really wanted to ask you in the hospital," Azai knelt, blushing furiously. "Was if I could have your hand in marriage."

The waitress's hands flew up to her mouth in shock. Masamune's eye widened in surprise, and Sasuke's eyebrows threatened to crawl off his forehead and into his hairline. Yukimura, when Masamune shot him a furtive glance, seemed a little triumphant as if he had been expecting the sudden proposal in the middle of the Kai Café. Ichi wiped away tears and made an attempt to calm herself. The silence stretched longer and longer.

"Will you marry me?"

He opened the box to reveal a demure diamond ring, simple and classic. Ichi gave Azai a single look before slapping both hands over her face again. Clearly this face-hitting habit of hers was a little hard to break.

"…I-Ichi?"

Ichi nodded once. Then again. And she burst into tears.

"Yes I will!" She sobbed and threw herself into Azai's arms, knocking him over.

Masamune leaned over to Yukimura.

"You knew he was going to propose to her, didn't you."

Yukimura grinned. "Mr Nagamasa was stalling in the alley, trying to convince himself to ask. I only saw him when I was taking out the trash but I think he's been there for the better part of the day."

Then they laughed at Sasuke who was awkwardly standing at the other end of the kitchen, waiting for the new couple to get out the kitchen entrance.

* * *

Ieyasu stirred when he heard someone enter his little room. The pain and blood loss was already starting to overwhelm him and when the door swung open, a gasp of wind followed and soothed his burning skin. The person huffed out a sigh and muttered something indistinct that sounded something like 'barbaric and ineffectual torture' (as if this man knew effectual torture) and began untying Ieyasu from his chair.

In some deep recess of his mind, Ieyasu thanked this unknown person for untying his body first. If someone had pulled the tape off his hands, he might have fainted right there and then from the pain. Then how would they move his body.

"Hey, you had better stay conscious for this. I can't lug you the entire way back to my apartment." Snapped his saviour. Ieyasu nodded weakly and gritted his teeth.

_Riip…_

Pain was nothing new to Ieyasu but it sparked brightly behind his eyelids. At least he had some warning.

"Get up." Ieyasu wordlessly obeyed and staggered after the light hand which guided him through the chlorine-smelling stairwell to some unknown apartment door, unlocking it with a deafening click.

Inside, the shower was running. The place was warm and mellow, painted a soft yellow which instantly endeared Ieyasu to this man. On the windowsill (offering an exciting view of a brick wall) were three pots, each full with a tiny sunflower. The interior was well-worn and cheap, but kept in such a condition that it could be said to be new. A small chess set sat on the table, half-played.

"Who're ya?" Ieyasu slurred, blood-loss making his tongue thick. The small man took a first-aid kit out of the kitchen cupboard and set it on the coffee table, and then pushed Ieyasu into the soft leather.

"I am Motonari Mori. I am a medical student at Sakigahara University, a bar manager, and enjoy playing chess. That's all you really need to know right now." Motonari moved away after organising the swabs and bandages on the table. After some clinking and the opening and closing of the fridge, a glass of orange juice was placed in front of Ieyasu.

"Drink it or you will die in your sleep."

Ieyasu frowned in confusion but decided to drink the juice anyway. He preferred to be alive and kicking.

As he sucked the orange juice through a straw, Motonari set about cleaning his wounds. By the time Motonari was finished with his first hand, the glass was empty.

"Don't fall asleep yet," He said brusquely. Ieyasu frowned and Motonari answered the unasked question. "I can't carry you to the guest bed. You need to get there yourself."

Ieyasu nodded drowsily and once his hands were stitched and bandaged, he made the final trek to a demure, white door. Ieyasu kicked off his shoes and carefully shed his hoodie, leaving him in his sweatpants and white singlet.

"Did you not change this morning?" sniped Motonari and Ieyasu mumbled incoherently before passing out under the covers.

Motonari rolled his eyes and shut the door.

The shower was still going.

"That blockheaded pirate had better not have hanged himself on my showerhead." He growled.

* * *

Night had fallen and again, Mitsunari had not returned to the apartment by the loading decks. His clothes stank of stale smoke and he was amazed that no one had stopped him yet. Knowing Yoshitsugu's paranoia, he was equally surprised that there was no search party for him either.

Mitsunari was in the quieter, more prestige part of town – the part where most of it was still under construction. For a while, he wandered, thought about nothing, then wandered some more through fluttering tarps and icy chill. Somewhere he knew that he should have been with the Silver Blades, doing whatever they were doing. Wandering around construction sites where the police made an effort to keep safe wasn't particularly safe or smart seeing as he was carrying his odachi and covered with sooty filth.

His sword was a gift to him from Boss Hideyoshi when he was been promoted to General. He prized it beyond all of his possessions and always kept it in perfect shape, even if he didn't have to use it. If anything, it was a symbol of his power and just carrying it was enough to make most men pause. But lately, he didn't get the urge to just draw the blade and admire it for what it was, simply because he'd forgotten what it felt like to draw it for anything else aside from intimidation.

He exhaled, shaking his head to rid himself of such pointless thoughts and smoky puffs of soot escaped from his hair. Somewhere in his now-quiet mind, he was already searching for cover, a place to stay for the night. He had wandered the whole day after setting fire to the Mikawa Delivery Service. Now that the sky was dark with thunderous clouds, he was running like a mouse from the storm.

_A little, white mouse._

Oh, you're back.

_Yes, Moondrop. Did you think I had left you?_

No.

_That's right, I'll never leave you – not while you have that outstanding wish._

…Really. What was it again?

_You don't remember your wish? Now that's a shame._ If voices could tut in his mind, this one did.

I asked you. Why can't you tell me?

_Not that I "can't", but that I "won't". _

Why won't you then?

_Because then it would be cutting my fun short. You try to remember it. Maybe then you can join me in my joke._

Somehow I get the feeling that I'll be the butt of it.

_That's your paranoia talking. I am only here for fulfilling your desires. Nothing more._

And yet you have the uncanny knack to start talking at the time where I least want you to. Don't speak for me: I can do that myself.

_Is. That. So._

Mitsunari stumbled to a stop, sword clattering forgotten to the floor as both hands moved to his mouth. His tongue felt like it had melted into thick putty and it had gummed his teeth together and was slithering down his throat and into his airway.

The Misfortune King gagged and struggled to breathe, while his mind told him it had to be some hallucination because _voices did not strangle you from inside one's head_. His jaw was clamped shut and even prying with his fingers didn't help.

_Where are your precious words, Moondrop? Speak now or forever hold your peace._

* * *

**Oh, Mitsunari's voice is turning into such an ass. But I haven't written him in a while so I guess it's okay.**

**Please review! Even if you want to gush about various characters, I'll wholeheartedly listen. JUST REVIEW PLEASE!**


	17. I Don't Think, Therefore I Am An Idiot

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! C:**

**Full Title: I Don't Think, Therefore I Am An Idiot**

* * *

'_It is stated in Terumune Date's will that he leaves the entire family company to his first son, Masamune Date.'_

Those were the words that rang through Masamune's head after meeting with the family lawyer as he took the train back to their apartment.

Masamune grinned a little at the thought. _Their_ apartment. Two and a half months after moving to Sakigahara City and Yukimura Sanada was suddenly living under his roof (with his brother and caretaker as well, but that was beside the point).

The train doors beeped and opened. The eye-patched man stepped out onto the platform and roughly bumped into a thin, white-haired man holding what Masamune assumed was a black cane.

"Sorry," he muttered automatically and turned away, not waiting for the expected hurried shuffling away characterised specifically for frightened old men. The 'old man' looked back briefly with emerald eyes before transferring his odachi to the other hand and walked down the carriage steps to claim a seat.

_(Line Break)_

'_Don't go poking around my apartment until I come back from university.'_

Motochika chuckled, thinking about what kinds of secrets Motonari was hiding if he asked him not to go looking… along with a long list of what he could and couldn't touch. Natural curiosity kicking in, the white-haired, wanna-be pirate first opened the door that Motonari had disappeared into the night before just as he turned off all the lights in the apartment.

Upon entering, Motochika checked the back of the door, and sure enough there was a white thread on the brown carpet that must have fallen from the crack above the door hinge. He replaced it and began his cursory examination of his boss's bedroom. The bed was small, pushed up against the corner with a skylight directly above it, bright with sunlight. There was a simple, wooden dresser beside the table with a little reading light and a book. Motochika flipped it open and a little memo card slipped out from in between the pages and landed on the floor.

__/_/12, 9:00 pm, Y meeting, brown terrace, East St_

Motochika frowned. The date was tomorrow and the description didn't seem too casual… almost questionable. East Street was on the main city square, overlooking the fountain in the middle. Most of the buildings there were small businesses and anything on the second floor were apartment blocks. Unless this 'Y' person had a place there (all of which were almost as expensive as the fancy new place that Masamune was living in), he wasn't sure why Motonari was going there.

Maybe he just had a friend there or something.

The thought ruffled his feathers a little too much so he put the memo back where he found it.

After poking around Motonari's private space a little more, Motochika left his boss's room.

He opened the fridge to look for a drink. There were the customary things: vegetables, cheese, yoghurt, and a few meats in the drawer. Drinks: water.

Motochika frowned.

Where was the milk?

He cast another look around the small kitchen and found plates, cups, tea in tins and a tiny spot of what appeared to be soy sauce on the corner of the bench. No milk.

…No wonder he's so short.

Then his eye caught the small door next to the laundry. He guessed it was a guest room of a sort.

Or he could be completely wrong and it was a cupboard instead or something.

Which would explain why he slept on the couch all night instead.

He reached for the handle and then froze. Something in the back of his mind urged him not to open this door. It was similar to having a baseball hitting him in the back of the head (he knew because Masamune had done it to him before by accident) but without the pain. Just the impact.

He frowned. His instinct wasn't terrible but he had been wrong a few times before.

To open or not to open.

The last time he had acted on his instincts, someone had gotten hurt… and that was…

Ieyasu.

His grip on the handle loosened and he backed off. He could feel that he was sweating bullets even though it was winter. Then with a sickening stomach-drop second, he wondered where the other man was. Was he dead? After all, he did leave him and surely by now – if no one had found him – Ieyasu would be dead from blood loss.

Motochika shook himself.

Of course someone would have found him. Ieyasu would probably be in the hospital right now, being questioned. An uncomfortable prickle went over his skin at the thought that maybe Ieyasu _was_ being questioned right at this moment. A heavy weight settled in his stomach – he would probably point the finger at him.

Which would mean that there was nothing important behind the door.

Rattled but reassured, Motochika turned the handle and opened the door.

…And found a sleeping Ieyasu curled up in tousled sheets.

Motochika's first thought: _Whut._

Second: _Fuck._

Third: _Wait…what's he doing here?_

Finally: _Thank God he's safe._

The front door opened.

"I'm back. The lecture got cancelled. You've been looking through my apartment haven-"

And Ieyasu opened his eyes.

* * *

"Masamune!" Yukimura flung himself at the Azure Dragon just as the door closed. Masamune caught the tackle and fell back against the door, embracing the Crimson Tiger back. He revelled in Yukimura's warmth, greedily soaking it up in some childish notion that he could draw it all into himself and carry it around with him forever.

"Hey, are you about to leave?" He murmured into Yukimura's hair. The younger nodded and turned away, taking his warmth with him. For a flash, Masamune felt a little annoyance at the lack of Yukimura's heat but it melted away with the thought of being together far into the future.

"Are you coming for breakfast? You can eat it with us since we don't open until ten on Saturday!" Yukimura's bright voice beckoned him and Masamune kicked off his shoes and followed his nose to bacon and eggs.

There were four plates set out on the table, each with their share of breakfast and Yukimura was already inhaling most of his portion. Kojuro was washing the last pan in the sink and Sasuke…

"Sasuke, why aren't you coming to eat?" Yukimura asked after a mouthful of egg and toast.

The elder Takeda ward kept staring out of the window as if he hadn't heard his brother speak at all.

"Sasuke?"

The tattooed waiter gave a start and turned to Yukimura giving him a sheepish smile.

"Yeah? Sorry, I was thinking of something. What did you say?"

He moved over to Yukimura and the younger resumed his talk while Masamune and Kojuro traded looks. There was something wrong with Sasuke.

They all sat down around the table; Yukimura munching happily on toast and jam, Masamune eating in the brisk, measured fashion he had, Kojuro chewing at a more sedate pace, and Sasuke picking at his food.

"Hurry up, Sasuke! It's almost nine and we need to go, go, go!" Yukimura was bouncing up and down in his seat and Masamune gave Kojuro a sour look.

"Did you put sugar in his juice or something?" he asked. Kojuro frowned and Yukimura shook his head.

"I didn't drink anything."

"Oh, so what drug did you put in his bacon this time?" Masamune teased and suddenly felt a heavy killing intent hit him.

"What did you say?" Sasuke intoned in a low voice, the blank Tenko Kamen glare seeping into his gaze.

A prickle went down Masamune's spine and his grip unconsciously tightened around his knife as he met the acidic, green stare with his own steely one.

"Don't you and Yukimura need to be somewhere now?" Kojuro laid a separating hand on both Masamune and Sasuke.

"Oh, yeah! Sasuke, we'll be late if we don't leave now," Yukimura sped off, grabbing coats, keys and other whatnots before he realised that his brother wasn't following him. "Sasuke?"

Yukimura received silence as his brother and his boyfriend continued their staring match. Then getting the stupid idea of maybe… just maybe.

"Tenko?"

The light in Sasuke's eyes suddenly winked out and his hand slammed into the table, making the cutlery jump. A flash of silver leapt at Yukimura and the young Tiger flinched backward, aghast. A strong arm halted the knife slash as Masamune shouted in surprise and anger, dashing over to Yukimura's side who looked as if he were about to collapse from shock.

"Masamune, take Yukimura away." Kojuro ordered and Masamune jumped to follow.

"NO!" Tenko snarled and lunged forward with a jab that was trained to punch straight through human flesh. It was countered again with a push to the wrist that diverted the attack into the air.

"Yukimura, let's go." Masamune muttered and the two younger men escaped the apartment.

The sound of a shutting door seemed to infuriate Tenko that he lunged forward again, thrusting the blunt knife toward his obstructer. The weapon was quickly disarmed with a hard punch to the wrist again. Tenko swung with his other arm which connected solidly with Kojuro's shoulder. The Date caretaker raised his eyebrows in shock. No one had hit him so hard in his life and he stumbled back with a numb left arm.

Tenko made a run for the door and was stopped again by a clumsy tackle to the back. His arms were wrenched around his back and twisted until he heard his bones creak ominously. Tenko wisely held still.

Suddenly, the cold fury that surrounded the assassin dissipated, leaving a drained Sasuke in its wake.

"…Kojuro, I'm in control now."

"I see."

Kojuro stepped off the elder Takeda ward and the other painfully got to his feet then collapsed into the sofa. The older of the two massaged his shoulder – it was coming back in pins and needles.

"Did I hit you?" Sasuke questioned offhandedly.

Kojuro cracked a small smile. "Just once."

"Oh, sorry." He mumbled and closed his eyes.

Silence reigned and was shortly broken by the cup of tea offered to the ex-assassin alongside a question.

"What's going on?"

Sasuke's eyelids flickered open and green eyes managed to focus onto the other man. He deliberated for a moment then mentally shrugged. What was one more person in on the story of his life?

"Long story short, I'm an experimental freak from childhood. I was designed to be better than humans for the first six years of my life, then dropped into the foster system until I met Yukimura and later Shingen. Bound to be screwed up somewhere in here, right?" Sasuke tapped his temple and accepted the tea.

"You didn't answer my question." Sasuke paused mid-sip and fixed a confused expression onto his face.

Kojuro lowered his cup and settled on the other end of the couch, close enough to talk, not enough to touch.

"I asked 'what was going on'. Not 'why did that happen'," Sasuke tilted his head in understanding but made no move to answer the new question.

"Was it because Masamune made that comment on Yukimura's behaviour?"

Sasuke considered the possibility. In truth, he wasn't sure what had set him off. Just that he had suddenly lost control and attacked his little foster brother.

"I don't actually know." He admitted and looked out of the window again.

"Or was it that Masamune suggested…" Kojuro paused and they both felt realisation click into place in the silence.

"Poison."

"Kasuga."

They paused.

"Close enough." Sasuke said distantly before finally taking a sip of his drink.

* * *

The world was squeezing Yukimura of his breath. If he didn't stop running soon, asthma might become a problem again.

"Wait," Yukimura gasped and Masamune immediately stopped. They had taken the stairs down (since waiting for an elevator wasn't the smartest thing to do if there was a raving lunatic brother running after you with the breakfast cutlery) and had spiralled down, down, down.

Fear constricted his chest too and Masamune tenderly held Yukimura close upon the concrete stairwell.

Gradually, Yukimura's breathing evened out and he leant heavily on Masamune.

"What was that?" Yukimura asked in little more than a whisper.

_Damn._ Masamune remembered that Sasuke had never told Yukimura about the experiments. That guy was a walking mental breakdown about to happen.

Masamune wished he could take back those words said at the table. Maybe it never would have happened if he hadn't opened his mouth – Sasuke wouldn't have snapped and Yukimura wouldn't have seen what appeared to be Tenko Kamen suddenly betraying his allegiance and attacking his commander.

How could he explain it to Yukimura when Sasuke had endeavoured to keep his secrets from his brother for so long? Was it his place to explain or not?

Masamune gently petted Yukimura's fluffy hair and looked down when the other stirred.

"Yes?" he asked, voice echoing hollowly in the stairwell.

"Who was that?"

A chill went down Masamune's back. He slowly pushed the brunet waiter back, searching for something he knew that wouldn't be there in naïve, chocolate eyes.

"What?" Was all Masamune could spit out, heart thudding painfully.

"Who was that in our apartment? Why did he attack me?"

He's seen this happen before – selective memory, Masamune recalls it being named. A coping measure. It happened to Itsuki, just after her parents died and the criminal was presented at court. Masamune had only been there for moral support but when proceedings ended, she walked up to him as asked, 'who was that guy in the handcuffs?'

Then, Masamune was loath to fill in her reluctant memory.

This time, it was a different person. Yukimura and Sasuke were brothers in everything but blood. How could he just-

"Masamune?" Yukimura looked up at Masamune with devastatingly innocent eyes.

He looked away.

"Yukimura?" The waiter smiled up at the blank eye-patch, quashing the black, twisted feelings within him. "Wait here. I need to make a call, okay?"

"Okay!" Yukimura plonked himself down on a grey stair and the Azure Dragon gave him one last, worried glance before stepping out through the nearest door, phone already speed-dialling Kojuro.

'_Masamune?'_

"Yukimura's coping but Sasuke won't be happy about it." Masamune said lowly.

'…_How so?'_ He never liked that careful tone of Kojuro's.

"Selective memory."

He could almost hear the grimace through the phone.

'_You're right. Sasuke is not going to cope well with that as well.'_

"'As well'?"

'_That other waitress. The one you tell me is missing.'_

He paused. Kasuga was probably the reason why Sasuke had been so absentminded in the first place. _Damn_, why did he have to run his mouth without thinking?

"Alright. Can you get Sasuke to move back to their old flat, and I want you to keep an eye on him too."

'_But-'_

"Kojuro, are you going against my orders?"

There was a long pause on the other side of the line.

'_I'll be dropping in every day to check on you.'_

The corner of Masamune's mouth lifted. Paranoid as always.

"Okay."

'_And Masamune,'_

The eye-patched man gave a hum of attention.

'_Keep Yukimura away from the Ruby Claws.'_

"Why?"

'_Their leadership is compromised. Keep Yukimura away until things settle down with the gangs. The Silver Blades are getting aggressive and the Gold Sun still refuse to do anything until their missing general is returned from the Iyo Demons. We've been called on to act but your relationship with Yukimura may… taint proceedings if word got out.'_

Masamune was silent, considering all of the possibilities. Right now, the Ruby Claws were weak from internal and external attacks. If their leader could not trust the second-in-command, they were open to desertion, attack and, at worst, disbandment – every member would be open to attack without help from their gang.

Tensions were growing between the Gold Suns and Iyo Demons. By extension, the Silver Blades – long-time rivals of the Gold Suns – were involved too. The majority of his people were siding with the Gold Suns which was again, causing tensions with their former Iyo Demon allies.

'_Masamune?'_

"Kojuro, I'll take care of Yukimura. You take care of Sasuke at their apartment. As for the gang war, we're siding with Ieyasu – I owe him that much. What's Sasuke doing right now?"

'_Packing. We're about to leave,'_ There was a heavy pause. _'Should I break the news to him?'_

Masamune prayed to whatever was out there that had an ounce of control over their lives that he was right. "Yes, but not now. Yukimura's not stupid; he'll get out of this eventually."

'_I hope so, Masamune. I honestly do hope so.'_

* * *

**So things went for a twist and now the story is different. I've thought up new things and now everything should come together a little better than before. At the end I'll tell you about what was going to be but you'll have to wait until then.**

**And it's a fair bit away.**

**Review, please!**

Anyway, thanks for getting down here. Drop a review, please.


	18. All It Takes Is A Bump On The Head

Love, the Cassette Tape

**Okay, wow. This is going to be really confusing now. Mitsunari's going to lose it in this chapter but here's how we're going to do this.**

**Mitsunari: **Speech**, _speech_**

**Not Mitsunari: **_Speech, _**speech**

**So, anything bold or **_unbolded italics_** in this chapter is the drug talking, and anything speech/though-wise of Mitsunari is **normal** or _bold and italics_. No Engrish in any of this, sorry.**

**Anything you want to rant about to me because this system of communication is terrible, review me and complain/suggest something different. Should be easy enough. :x**

**Anyway, terrible action sequences later and a special treat at the end.**

**Full Title: All It Takes Is A Bump On The Head**

* * *

"So you're the leader of the Ruby Claws." Mitsunari sized up the man before him. Same height, long, brown hair, a little pale and had the most deadly look in his dark-brown eyes.

Cold, wary and almost trained to kill.

A light wind picked up and it tugged on the edges of his white hair and dragged the heavy hem of the blood-red jacket the other wore.

The eyes remained fixated on him.

_Do not fear, Moondrop. My friends are here to help you – protect you._

I'm not scared if you're insinuating that.

The voice in his head chuckled. _Of course not. You are not scared of the man before you: you are scared of me._

His throat tightened for a moment and in a flash of fear Mitsunari blurted, "Stop!"

The other Silver Blades who had detached themselves from the darkness paused. The Crimson Tiger frowned.

"What are you here for?" Mitsunari demanded, struggling past the fear broiling within him.

The Crimson Tiger lifted his head slightly. "I'm leaving our agreement."

Okay.

_WHAT?!_ The voice hissed. _Are you going to let him get away just like that?_

If he wants to leave, who am I to stop him? I'm tired of this game.

A colossal wave of fury crashed into his mind and for a moment, Mitsunari felt a tingle in his fingers before the sensation fizzled away and they moved on their own accord…

…to grasp the hilt of his sword.

"No!" Mitsunari snarled, even as he himself shouted it within his mind.

**_W-what did you do?_**

The Crimson Tiger tensed and coiled, ready to leap away at the slightest indication of danger.

Mitsunari felt his arm draw the sword and he surged up from within the foggy recesses of his mind, forcing the hand to release the blade in pain when two minds filled his consciousness simultaneously.

**_What the hell! Did you just control my body?_**

Mitsunari's tenuous hold on his motor skills slipped and the pain receded, just as he did into his echoing mind.

Just sit back and stay pretty and useless.

The Crimson Tiger frowned momentarily, unsure of how to react.

"_What did your representative claim when we formed our alliance?" _rasped Mitsunari.

"No trouble, open trade and… loyalty." Dark eyes widened in realisation as the Misfortune King's face split into an inhuman grin.

"_Do you know what the Silver Blades do to traitors?"_

For the first time in a _very_ long time, The Crimson Tiger felt a primeval sensation of fear bleed into the small of his back, making his skin prickle hotly. Trusting his instincts on this, the leader of the Ruby Claws absconded with haste.

"_Sick 'im, boys."_

And the band of Silver Blades took off howling with glee like beasts.

* * *

The Crimson Tiger shot expertly from shadow to shadow, ripping off his wig and pulling off his heavy leather jacket as he went. He found his way back to the air-conditioning duct that hid his black backpack and with a few controlled super-jumps, the bag was grabbed and various items of clothing crammed inside.

Sasuke slung the pack over his shoulder and continued on his way, ducking into stinking corners when he heard the baying of the drugged Silver Blades.

As his breathing calmed, Sasuke assessed his situation.

Sasuke was masquerading as the Crimson Tiger because the Ruby Claws needed to become neutral in order to deal with the secret lack of leadership. Yukimura… well, Sasuke assumed that being moved to the Takeda apartment was for his brother's safety, but when Kojuro suggested that he break off agreements with the Silver Blades as Yukimura, Sasuke's trouble instincts kicked in.

'_I'll tell you why when you get back.'_

Sasuke trusted Kojuro. If anything, he was a strong man being able to bring up Masamune single-handedly. Sasuke could afford him some time and trust.

He was about five kilometres away from the Takeda apartment. While it wasn't a particularly long run for him, Sasuke had to escape the labyrinth that was the docklands. The docklands were narrow, dark and smelt constantly of rot, mouldering fish, sweat and other general unpleasantness. Sasuke couldn't rely on his enhanced sight – too many hidden nooks and alleys for him to be comfortable – or hearing – brick corridors echoes badly – or smell (because, just ew).

In the docklands, Sasuke had no advantage at all. It was something he was not used to.

Sasuke warily made his way down the narrow corridor and peeped around the corner. A shift of shadows had him retreating hastily and scrambling up a brick wall. He managed to hoist himself up onto the roof just as a Silver Blade prowled around the corner and into Sasuke's alley.

The affected man stalked off into the darkness and Sasuke let out a breath then inspected his surroundings.

On rooves, it allowed a clearer line of sight on where he was headed. Sasuke had just decided he'd travel above the ground when an almighty crash turned his attention to his left where a Silver Blade was crouched, grinning madly like a hunting dog.

A thrill of fear shot through Sasuke and he bolted unthinkingly onto the next roof, then the next, and the next. One by one, the Silver Blades began tailing him as they ran over the tin rooftops.

Panic spread through Sasuke's abdomen. He'd experienced worse in the experimentation rooms with the electric floors, moving circle saws, hallucinatory drugs… hell, even the scientists themselves.

However, there was something eerie about these clumsy dogs. Men would bark and howl – these didn't. They breathed so heavily Sasuke could hear it over the wind rushing in his ears, laboured and rough, as if their lungs were filled with dry dust. He didn't need to throw a glance over his shoulder to know that their creepy, grinning faces were fixed on his back.

Sasuke pelted across the docklands with every ounce of his enhanced strength, relying only on his instinct to place his feet in the darkened recesses of the rooves. Somehow, his assailants kept pace until the rickety shacks and crumbling walls thinned into concrete.

Sasuke stealthily ducked behind a smokestack and jumped down to the grey ground, rolling over his shoulder to dissipate the energy. He could see street lights down an alley and made for it. A small figure walked down the road, partially hidden by shadows. He figured the Silver Blades would leave him once there were witnesses involved.

Heavy feet slammed into his shoulders and drove him into the ground. Sasuke's cheek split as it made contact with the filthy floor and he felt a hot rush of blood slide down his face. Dimly, he heard three other feet landing heavily around the alley. Confusion swept through him – even with his augmented body structure, Sasuke wouldn't have been able to make a straight jump down without some injury and yet these ordinary yet drugged men could land without so much as a twisted ankle.

Sasuke held still, allowing his body to draw breath as he mentally blocked all pain of his cheek and a ninety-kilo man sitting on his bruised back. Once he drew a rattling gasp, Sasuke flexed and swung his foot back and up, slamming his heel into the base of the man's skull. The man's head snapped forward with a grunt and Sasuke wormed out from under him.

Dull silver flashed toward him and Sasuke flipped backward, dodging the knife swung in his direction. Springing forward, he slammed a careful punch into one of his adversary's chest, hearing the sternum crack. He followed up with an upward kick to the chin and the man collapsed, unconscious.

Someone grabbed him from behind and Sasuke swung his head back which connected solidly with their nose, breaking it. He barely felt any pain as the man holding him crumpled back and Sasuke dodged around a knife blade again.

The ex-assassin jumped and snapped out his foot, crunching into the neck of the man holding the knife. The man gagged, fell on his back and lay still.

Sasuke swung around, looking for the last enemy. He found nothing but empty space. His neck prickled with warning and arms looped around him again in a clumsy hold.

Sasuke quickly slithered out and turned to deliver an uppercut had the enemy not been grabbed and bodily thrown into a brick wall. The Silver Blade collided with the masonry and collapsed on the floor without so much as a twitch.

"_Don't_ tell me you could have handled it."

Sasuke turned his attention to the stern voice and fixed a crooked grin onto his face.

"Wasn't planning on it, Kojuro. I didn't know you were coming too."

Kojuro shrugged and turned back to the street, not needing to tell the other that he was worried.

"Let's go home and get cleaned up."

The remaining walk was comfortably silent, if a bit precarious. The streets had begun to ice over and a misplaced step led to bouts of slipping and sliding as the two found, much to Sasuke's amusement and Kojuro's embarrassment.

They made it into the elevator and Kojuro had touched the button for the right floor. Sasuke let himself relax slightly, adrenaline running itself out in his veins. Already his limbs felt like lodestones. The doors opened and Kojuro stepped out, holding the door for him.

"…Sasuke?" Kojuro frowned.

The Takeda ward mirrored the older man's face when he willed his body forward, his legs to move. His limbs were leaden and Sasuke wondered why his body was not following orders like usual. Black flickered around the edges of his vision and Sasuke lifted a quivering hand up to steady himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He stumbled back before bumping into the back of the elevator. The world swayed without his permission and his legs folded under him.

Sasuke's last thought was to wonder why the red floor of the elevator was coming up to greet his face.

* * *

Kojuro darted forward to catch the unconscious waiter's body before it hit the blood-soaked floor of the lift. He sucked in a sharp breath when he saw how much blood had leaked out of the other man. It was stupid of him to assume that Sasuke had been completely unharmed; he just didn't expect so much damage.

A quick inspection revealed a shallow knife wound in his side, severing several small arteries that still leaked fluid. Kojuro wondered how Sasuke could have walked the entire way back without even complaining about the pain. Then it hit him.

He'd probably had some training in blocking out pain.

Gritting his teeth, Kojuro hauled the unconscious man up and into his arms, taking care not to jostle the wound any more.

He'd just explain the dark stain on the floor later.

* * *

Motonari knew his loud employee would go snooping around his apartment as soon as he left. In truth, the lecture _hadn't_ been cancelled – he just left to allow Motochika to pry around to his heart's content.

He hadn't left anything dangerous or incriminating around – even if he had looked at the troublesome things, there was no way Motochika could know what it was about. The rest was down to the man's sense of chivalric pride. Motochika wouldn't pry into things too deeply.

So, when Motonari opened the door to the stickiest (yet inevitable with hindsight) situation he'd ever had within his residence.

Moving quickly, Motonari grabbed a bottle of apple juice out of the fridge, plucked a straw from a cup on the table, placed it inside the liquid and thrust the whole thing into Motochika's slack hands. Giving the white-haired man an unceremonious shove into the room, Motonari slammed the door shut behind Motochika.

The best way to resolve issues among block-headed idiots, in his opinion, was to shut them in a room to talk it out.

Hopefully it worked. Otherwise, he wasn't letting them out unless one of them was dead.

* * *

"Um… hi."

Motochika stared stupidly from his stunned position near the door.

The room was decently heated with the small curtains drawn on the far wall. Ieyasu smiled tiredly from his mess of sheets, pillows and ridiculous bed-hair. Amidst the white cotton sheets, Motochika saw the edge of bandage linen peeking out among the folds.

"'Chika, can have that juice? I'm kinda thirsty." Ieyasu laughed lightly. Motochika started and tentatively handed the glass over to the Golden General. Ieyasu would have dropped the juice had Motochika not steadied his shaking fingers in time and gently lifted the straw closer to Ieyasu's lips.

"How are you feeling?" Asked the brunet after he had finished the glass. Motochika blinked in surprise.

Ieyasu was the one who was injured and he was asking _him_ if he was alright.

Motochika forced a grim smile.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Ieyasu smiled back blankly, as if he had not heard Motochika's muttered statement.

"'Chika?"

The Demon of Iyo gazed a moment more on Ieyasu's empty, smiling mask and snapped.

"DON'T MAKE THAT FACE!"

Shattered glass sparkled on the wood floor wherever Motochika had flung it and Ieyasu found two angry hands grabbing the front of his white singlet, lifting him painfully up off the bed.

"You're always blaming yourself, even when it's clearly someone else's fault. You forgive the people who wrong you; you take back your traitors… Ieyasu, I don't… you're so-" Motochika furiously blinked back tears, trying to _breathe_ past the lump in his throat.

"Why are you so kind?" he managed to grate out before tiredly dropping his friend back onto the bed. "Stop being so nice and just tell me that it's all my fault."

Ieyasu's surprised expression melted into rueful understanding. Motochika kept his gaze fixed on a shining shard of glass on the floor, stubbornly not looking up even when injured hands tentatively wound past his blurry vision and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"It's your fault, Motochika." Warm breath ruffled Motochika's hair as the anvil that weighed the pirate's chest down lifted. Motochika dropped down onto the bed as Ieyasu shifted so that he would be more comfortable.

The Demon of Iyo sniffled noisily.

"You made me cry, you bastard."

Even as he said that, Motochika could feel the smile in the air as Ieyasu cuddled him closer and muttered something about him asking for it.

* * *

Yoshitsugu slowly wheeled himself around his small room.

He'd always preferred it to care for himself whenever possible – after all, why be more of a burden than you are already.

He had long perfected the art of swinging himself off his wheelchair and onto the narrow bed where the phone and laptop were within reach.

Just as he was hoisting himself out of the seat, the phone went off.

Settling himself comfortably against a stack of cushions, Yoshitsugu casually plucked the phone from its cradle knowing full well who was on the other end.

"Otani speaking."

'_How are things on your side?'_

Yoshitsugu smirked. Hanbei hadn't changed at all; still demanding in his roundabout way, speaking in a silky voice that betrayed his conniving nature.

Naturally, he had made him the conniving, murderous man Hanbei was today.

"Everything is going according to plan."

There was a crackle of static as Hanbei let out a sigh of relief, though it could equally be one of annoyance.

After a short pause, Hanbei spoke again.

'_When will it be time?'_

"I told you, soon-"

'_But you never tell me exactly when! When will I get my revenge?! When will I finally crush the thieves that took Hideyoshi away from me?' _

Yoshitsugu heard the faint tinkle of glass broken by angry hands and sighed.

Time to placate the dumb beast agai-

"Thieves?"

'_Both of them! How dare they take Hideyoshi's attention away from me.'_

"Both?" He couldn't quash the feeling that something had gone horrifyingly wrong.

'…_Did you forget? No, you couldn't have.'_

The silence stretched longer and Yoshitsugu felt the air vacuum out of his lungs as the gears turned in Hanbei's head. It was only a matter of time before the other man figured out Yoshitsugu's role in his plan.

'_You played me. You were always fond of that boy.'_

Invisible hands squeezed his throat as the pieces fell together.

Hideyoshi's death was orchestrated by Hanbei but hatched through Yoshitsugu – the cripple who wished death, had not a certain giant "saved" him from the hospital. The doctors had given up on his condition. Even now, his disease was killing him. A prolonged torture: that was what his existence was.

Hanbei too, or he had been at least. He had tuberculosis in the lung as a child. Living in a violent home, Hanbei would never have gotten the treatment needed to save his life. When Hideyoshi saved Hanbei and brought him into the fold of the Toyotomi, they all somehow managed to come up with the money to cure him.

But with Yoshitsugu… there was only stagnation. Rot.

And what does rot do other than spread?

That is, until Yoshitsugu met the two young leaders Mitsunari and Ieyasu.

Ieyasu was nothing more than something else to die off… but Mitsunari…

Mitsunari was different from the rest. Sure, a little naïve, but he was the only one who would break a gang member's legs for Yoshitsugu's honour.

Hanbei thought the act was nothing more than a prank. A very violent prank; where only Ieyasu could hold the boy back from outright killing the offender, but a prank nonetheless. It was then that Hideyoshi took a closer interest in these children.

Of course, being Hideyoshi's lover, Hanbei didn't like the diversion of attention. It was this jealousy that Yoshitsugu manipulated and warped against the man who stole his chance at relief.

Yoshitsugu foresaw the fall of Hideyoshi at his lover's hands. A fitting end, if he says so himself.

He, however, would never have thought the jealous rage would turn to Ieyasu and Mitsunari.

He well and truly fucked up there.

"…Are you going to kill them?" What was left of Yoshitsugu's heart squeezed painfully, waiting for the verdict that he had influenced.

'_Of course,'_ there was a derisive crackle of a sigh. _'Killing them both would have to be the best of punishments for you.'_

'_After all, this is all your fault.'_

* * *

"Masamune, I need to go to work!" Yukimura whined.

Masamune, having kept Yukimura away from the shop for the past three days after hearing from Kojuro that Sasuke was in the hospital. Again.

He hears that Sasuke was out after one day of unconsciousness in a wheelie bed. The only reason why he wasn't there longer was because the second he woke up, the Takeda ward promptly 'flipped his shit', quote Kojuro.

Sasuke was currently resting in his normal bed, apparently.

"You're taking a break from work. You've been working too hard." Masamune said as he texted Motochika for the umpteenth time during the day, asking where the heck the wannabe-pirate was.

"I have not been working at all."

"Well, _I_ think you've been working too hard," the eye-patched man grumbled under his breath. Yukimura ungracefully snorted and grabbed his coat and umbrella. It had started to snow in earnest that morning.

"I am going and you can do nothing to stop me." Yukimura stomped over to his shoes sitting innocently near the door.

"Hold on!" Masamune leapt out of his seat and in the time it took Yukimura to reach for the doorhandle, he had crossed the living room and latched onto Yukimura's back like an octopus.

A lanky, half-blind octopus with half its limbs missing.

Yukimura made an odd '_gurk'_ noise and they unceremoniously fell backward, awkwardly hitting the timber floor with a heavy thunk.

"Ow…" Yukimura moaned.

"That's my line." Growled Masamune as he rolled the smaller brunet off him.

"Sasuke would have caught me." Grumbled the smaller as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, you _landed_ on me! Technically I caught you."

"If you had not jumped on me, I would not have fallen in the first place."

"Yeah, so-" Masamune paused and stared at Yukimura with trepidation.

"Did you say Sasuke would have caught you?"

Yukimura looked up at Masamune wearing a wary face, as if the eye-patched one had sprouted another four limbs and making him truly the octopus of doom.

"…Yes?"

Masamune gained a watery look in his eye and launched himself sideways and onto Yukimura who collapsed back into confusion and laughter as the other wrapped his arms around the other and planted his face firmly into the waiter's ticklish torso.

"Alright, that's enough," Yukimura calmed himself enough to shove Masamune off him and stand. "I _really_ have to go now!"

"No, wait-"

The eye-patched man jumped up and spun Yukimura just as he opened the door. Slamming it closed by shoving the other into the door, Masamune trapped the waiter against the thick wood and (unthinkingly) pressed his lips into Yukimura's.

They stood there for exactly two and a half seconds before:

"Sh-shameless!" Yukimura screeched and shoved Masamune away, horrified.

Masamune blinked dumbly at the other, mouth agape. Did he just-

He couldn't finish his thought as Yukimura yanked him forward for a sloppy makeout that tossed all thoughts of work out of the metaphorical window.

* * *

**FINALLY 8D**

**Reviews are like sloppiness to makeouts. ;)**


	19. Wrack and Ruin

Love, The Cassette Tape

_**Bold and italics**_** stand for the voice of Mitsunari's… er, voice. **

**This chapter is where the shit hits the whirling device and… well, not everyone makes it out this time.**

**Full Title: Wrack and Ruin**

* * *

Motochika's head fell to his hands.

"Ieyasu, you need to stop this. I think you're the only one who can."

Ieyasu thanked Motonari who had finished re-bandaging his hands and then turned to his friend (he was sure of this now), a small frown darkening his expression.

"I don't know if I can. I disbanded the Gold Suns all those years ago because I didn't want to have anything to do with another gang war," Ieyasu's face fell. "I mean, look what happened last time."

A pang of guilt stabbed at Motochika's conscience. He knew what Ieyasu's involvement with street gangs had cost him last time, and here he was asking him for a repeat – or perhaps a long-awaited finale – of the war a little over five years ago.

He had heard of the new substance that had been circulating the gangs lately. As much as he hated to admit it, many of his own members had turned to the clear pills that were rumoured to come from Date Pharmaceuticals. Motochika knew it was pointless to ask Masamune or Kojuro to look into these kinds of illegal business but still, he wanted it stopped. Somehow.

"Maybe I can talk to Mitsunari…" Motochika's head shot up in surprise. He hadn't heard Ieyasu mention the Misfortune King's name aloud in years.

Ieyasu seemed to realise that he had spoken his mind unwittingly and became flustered, ears turning red with embarrassment.

"I-I mean-"

"Ieyasu, don't."

The Gold General paused at the harsh tone of his childhood friend.

"I'm warning you now. Mitsunari might not be stable enough to reason with."

"Why do you say that?" Ieyasu's brow furrowed.

Motochika's eyes were downcast, finding the floor much more interesting than normal. "I saw Mitsunari yesterday. He's been taking those new drugs that have been through our gangs."

Ieyasu bit his lip.

His yellow phone jangled on Mori's sofa and Ieyasu reached for the ringing appliance. Motochika shooed Ieyasu's bandaged hands away and answered the phone himself, setting it on loud speaker.

'_Ieyasu? You actually picked up. Huh.'_

Magoichi Saica's voice crackled through the tiny speaker. There was some sort of static noise in the background and the faint whine of sirens bled through.

"Did you expect me not to?"

'_I expected you to be dead.'_

"Yes, sorry about that. Motochika and I fixed things up. What's going on Saica?"

'_You had better tell your gangs because I've already had to break up more than ten fights while you two have been having a bonding session. Oh, and your delivery service is on fire.'_

"What?!" Ieyasu exploded and plucked the phone off the table.

'_Ow, you don't need to shout. Are you on loudspeaker?'_

Ieyasu and Motochika shared a look.

"Yeah, but tell me what's happening right now."

* * *

Keiji looked back at the city receding behind the stained window of the bus leading away from Sakigahara City. He knew he owed too much to Ieyasu and as much as he valued his friendship with the others in the city, he was in one place for too long. It was time to move.

Yumekichi mewled from within his jacket and stared at him with baleful eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, Yumekichi. You and I both know that I had to leave that place sometime."

Yumekichi blinked once at him, eyes slitted and seemed to shake his head. He leapt from his place on Keiji's shoulder and onto the floor to a spot where Keiji couldn't reach from his seat.

Keiji sighed, dampening his already dismal mood.

He already knew why he wouldn't turn back – it was responsibility.

He _stupidly_ convinced himself that running from responsibility made it go away. That he could take on responsibility well enough… it was just the allure of new things that took him away.

Of course not.

Keiji laughed weakly at the bug-smeared window and held back a sob.

It wasn't that he didn't know what to do with responsibility…

He just didn't have the guts to take it on.

* * *

Hanbei blended seamlessly into the crowd on the bus entering Sakigahara City, backpack firmly wedged between his ankles. After more than five years, he was back in this metropolis.

He sighed to himself.

Five years since he had seen the Hideyoshi Army.

Five years since he had seen his beloved laid out in his coffin.

Heat prickled the back of his eyes and he forced his eyes closed. There were too many loose ends. Too many irons left in the fire.

His chest closed up, and he felt the familiar sensation of drowning on land as his lungs spasmed. Hanbei waited until the clenching subsided, breathing out in relief.

'_Just a little longer,'_ he thought. _'You'll have to wait a little longer, my lord.'_

'_After all, it won't be long before I'm on your side of the shore.'_

* * *

Apart from his prison in his mind, only on one other occasion did Mitsunari ever feel the sensation of drowning.

It was many years before – prior gangs, wars, betrayals and growing up – back when Mitsunari still had a family. A real one, that is. A family with a mother and father who took him to beaches in summer for sand castles and picnics; a sunny time.

A split decision was made and Mitsunari and his parents joined a beach tour that boated along the shoreline, skating past the rip tides and strong currents to points of interest that dotted the shore. It was a clear day that quickly changed into a blustery one, the boom of the boat swinging wildly in the changing wind.

His parents shouldn't be blamed – one moment he was standing on shaky legs, the next he was inhaling sea water. His mother told him that he was blown off the ship and into the water. The wind was too strong to turn safely – mother couldn't swim but was willing to jump in after him had not father been there to restrain her.

The currents dragged him low, tossing him around like clothes in the washer. Struggling, he struck out blindly, terrified, feeling the cold press in and the bubbles that spiralled away from his mouth in a desperate bid for the surface when hands grabbed his. Their nails were ragged and scratched his skin in long stripes that stung with salt but they dragged him up to the light.

Re-entering the world of air was painful and little Mitsunari clung to the other – _a child!_ – as they struggled to stay afloat.

_Lie on your back and float – I'll make sure you won't float away!_

There, he and the other child lay floating on their backs, hands clutching the other like sleeping otters as waves and currents rippled past beneath them and the cold wind bit at their salty faces.

_What is your name?_

_Mine?_

_Who else?_

_Haha, my name is Takechiyo. What's your name?_

…_My parents call me Sakichi._

_Sakichi… That's a really nice name!_

_I-it's nothing special…_

_._

_._

_._

_**Reliving the past, are we?**_

If Mitsunari still had the use of his eyes, he would have rolled them. Perhaps throw in an annoyed click of the tongue.

_**You shouldn't be so peeved, you know. After all, I **_**am**_** granting you your wish.**_

Even after wracking his brain for any evidence of a serious wish, Mitsunari could not find a single incident where he had asked the voice in his head for something. Anything at all, really.

_**You really still don't remember? Such a shame… perhaps you will only remember it when I fulfil it for you.**_

Mitsunari couldn't help but wonder how this voice knew the future as certainties – after all, that would have to be true as it promised fulfilled wishes.

A Silver Blade approached and nodded briefly at Mitsunari's stolen visage.

Something in the distance exploded, shudders quaking through the ground as the sounds of screams rent the air. Something alerted him to the fact that it was in the east and that Ieyasu was in the east somewhere.

_**It seems that our trump card has arrived. I recommend you stay where you are – you have the best seat in the house, after all.**_

* * *

The world had gone red with heat and melted bitumen. Ash burned at the back of Yukimura's throat as the explosion that decimated the restaurant across from the Kai Café threatened the surrounding buildings. Teams of fire fighters strode around, keeping curious onlookers back and hosing patches of flaming infrastructure.

"Yukimura, we can't stay here." Masamune tugged urgently on his arm, a Sapphire Scale member right behind having delivered ominous news.

War had been declared on the Ruby Claws by the Silver Blades. Something about breaking an alliance Yukimura never broke.

Since the Iyo Demons had defected to the Gold Suns, the Silver Blades were essentially alone, even though the Ruby Claws were now considered a neutral party. Attacks made by a single group on neutral territory were usually considered either cowardly or stupid.

That is, if the Silver Blades really were just a "single entity".

In the space of an hour from when war was declared, almost two thirds of the Ruby Claws moved to a different gang – the Silver Blades. It wasn't just the Ruby Claws – the majority of the Iyo Demons, a hundred of the Gold Suns, and almost half of the Sapphire Scares suddenly changed alliances, joining the Silver Blades.

By the time the Sapphire Scale informant delivered the alliance change news, the single gang outnumbered the Eastern Alliance by five to one.

So at the moment, Yukimura ran away from the burning wreckage, away from the flames that seared the gently falling snow.

He was led to an old, disused warehouse on the edge of West River. It was large enough to hold the entire Eastern Alliance with the doors closed, proven with the feat itself as Ieyasu Tokugawa stood before the uneasy crowd, ready to make plans.

_This is the Golden General?_ Yukimura questioned, staring at the back of the boy speaking to the crowd of one thousand. He was only one or two years younger and yet his stance belied an age of experience and leadership– not all necessarily good.

Compared to his leadership skills (which, in his opinion, were quite lacking), Ieyasu Tokugawa shone like a beacon.

Yukimura couldn't help but feel a little spark of jealousy sting in his chest.

_No. Sasuke has been guiding me from the shadows and that has been more than enough to protect my people! I cannot afford to succumb to such frivolous and redundant emotions when their lives hang in the balance of such an important war._

Letting out a determined huff, Yukimura mentally 'psyched himself up' as Masamune would have put it and sat straighter in his seat. Masamune looked over in slight confusion but shot him a pleased smirk at what he saw next to him.

"We're going to be facing a lot of opposition and I'm not going to lie – not all of us are going to make it out uninjured," Ieyasu let out a soft, nearly dejected sigh and sat on the low stack of crates, bringing himself closer to the ones who he talked to. "I know it will be hard… and that most of you are scared and the only reason why you haven't run is because there are people you care about on the other side."

"It seems that this is all because of a drug. I don't know what it's supposed to do but right now, it seems that it mind-controls people." There was a light chuckle passing through the crowds that quickly stifled itself with the tension in the room.

"My best friend is over there too. We had so much fun when we were younger… but we fell apart because of the last gang war," A sad hush rippled and stilled the warehouse. "His name is Mitsunari Ishida – the Misfortune King… and the leader of the Silver Blades."

"I don't think for one moment that Mitsunari really wants this war. I know this has to be caused from the poison he's taking. I'm not saying that he's not at fault here; there are influences in our lives that even we're not aware of but they change our bonds irrevocably."

Ieyasu gained a sad look.

"My mistake was leaving Mitsunari's side at the time where I should not have."

"We can fix all this. I know we can! Our bonds with the people over there will break the curse they're under-"

"This isn't a fairy tale! They made their decisions and that led to them acting like killers. I didn't join a gang to be killed in a freak war!"

Ieyasu smiled sadly at the lone voice.

"Then what's stopping you from walking away right now?"

"I-I…" The voice petered out into a few hushed assurances.

"We all care for one another – otherwise we wouldn't have stuck together for so long. Now, we need to finish things as peacefully as possible. It was stupid of me to try and avoid confrontation," Ieyasu let out a weak laugh as he looked down at his bandaged hands. "It made everything so much worse…"

There was a loud sigh and Masamune stood up, drawing startled looks.

"Then there's no point in sitting here and moping, right?"

"We're all got our scars – we're all ugly on the inside. We'll never stop being selfish and scared, too stupid to see what's right in front of us, but **I'll be damned** if we let ourselves be beaten by hopped up, idiotic weaklings who needed a crutch so badly they forgot their friends were there and went straight for the pills!" Masamune roared as the crowd cheered, rattling the rusting, tin corrugation roofing the building.

"After tonight, there will be no more grudges – no unsettled scores! We will become one army, one city under this sun!"

Then the back wall exploded.

* * *

Hanbei watched happily as the water explosives disintegrated as a huge plume of smoke rose up where once the back of the familiar warehouse was. Little specks of people charged into the burning wreckage as the sounds of gunshots and screams were carried on the wind to Hanbei's ears.

The city had changed so much from the time when Hanbei had been last. Larger, more disgusting…

_If I had the means, I would move your pitiful grave to a place in the countryside… maybe somewhere with a river and a big, old tree… you'd like that, Hideyoshi._

His vision swam and he drowned again as his lungs struggled to remain in a workable state.

"Just a little more… I want to see the end of my plans."

Tears pricked at his eyes.

"I love you so much, Hideyoshi… I just need to punish the one who took you from me."

Staggering upright, Hanbei made for the street, intent on getting two individuals to kill one another… and to antagonise a dead man with his last breath.

* * *

Not-Mitsunari slashed downwards and felt a jarring sensation of a blade being blocked with metal. An eye glared up at him from in between six crossed blades, electric blue and Not-Mitsunari grinned, slashing down hard enough to push the other backwards several feet.

The other man swore, regaining his balance as Not-Mitsunari charged again. Behind the man, streams of terrified people fled the warehouse, the panicked cries of clansmen near drowning out the orders of one Golden General and his fellow leaders.

Eyes zeroing in on the yellow-clad target, Not-Mitsunari deflected the next attack and sped toward Ieyasu's back, ignoring the screams in his head.

"Ieyasu!" The boy heeded the warning and turned just in time to dodge the swipe of Not-Mitsunari's sword. Ieyasu stumbled back just as the last of the panicked crowd escaped the ruins.

"I'll lead him away! Get to the meeting point!" Ieyasu cried before dashing from out under Not-Mitsunari's sword and making for the narrow alleyways.

Not caring about the other swordsman, Not-Mitsunari sped after his target, eager to grant his wish.

Outside, the snow had begun to fall in earnest, cascading in thick sheets that blanketed the ground and made every footfall a slippery threat once the white flakes had caked the soles of his shoes white.

Ieyasu kept a fast pace, a little faster than a long-distance run, and made the hairpin turns with little more than a slight skid. Not-Mitsunari, though being lighter and much faster, was pleased to keep a sedate pace behind the boy.

**Why won't you stop this?**

Even the little brat whom he was kind enough to grant a wish for couldn't dampen his mood of being alive and _free_.

_**You wished for it, Snowdrop.**_

**But I didn't-**

_**Must I spell it out to you?**_

A stray, drunken memory flashed through Mitsunari's consciousness…

Tears tracked down his face as he moaned and the corridor he sat in reeked of alcohol, too upset to even crawl to his room.

It was the night Hideyoshi died.

Ieyasu had run. _Run!_ The coward. What was he supposed to think when he found their saviour dying as Ieyasu fled?

Why hadn't he stopped to help Hideyoshi?

Why had Ieyasu betrayed his trust?

"_I wish Ieyasu would just go and DIE."_

**No…**

**No, no, no!**

Not-Mitsunari felt the other consciousness twist with despair then dive down screaming into the recesses of his mind to a place where even _it_ couldn't reach.

.

.

.

* * *

_**And that is that.**_


	20. This Is War

Love, The Cassette Tape

**Things will get better, I promise!**

**Review replies:**

**Guest (25/01/13): First, thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like this story and yes, I wish Motochika was my best friend too!**

**[edit]: sorry, I forgot to edit everything online before posting... Everything's fixed up OTL**

**[edit 2]: Bad spelling mistakes. I'm almost ashamed to have posted this with them.**

**Full Title: This Is War**

* * *

Mitsunari had clearly been suppressed. Ieyasu could see it in the man that stood before him with his freakishly red eyes, jittery hands, wearing Mitsunari's face.

It was Mitsunari but not Mitsunari.

Ieyasu could feel him. See him. But not sense him.

Not-Mitsunari grinned wildly at Ieyasu.

_**"It's just me and you."**_

Ieyasu looked at Mitsunari, feeling a pang of pity for the twisted thing that had managed to overwhelm his friend.

"No. It's just you. This war is for you."

Not-Mitsunari grinned wider.

**_"Do you know why I'm here?"_** asked not-Mitsunari.

"It's because of…"

**_"YOU." _**Finished not-Mitsunari with a cackle of glee.

Ieyasu flinched but held his ground.

"How is it because of me?" Ieyasu asked calmly.

**_"You broke this kid," _**Not-Mitsunari gestured at his self. _**"He's crazy for you. He always was but now…"**_

Not-Mitsunari let the statement hang in the air.

They had had a long, merry chase through the warrens of the docklands, hairpin turns, open manholes and puddles of unidentifiable sludge. Just as Ieyasu's lungs were giving out on him for running too fast for too long, he barreled out into the main square, the fountain still running, stirring clumps of snow in its basin.

And now, Not-Mitsunari had cornered him in the main square.

The one place where things could not be solved peacefully if Masamune and the others arrived at the organised time.

Through Ieyasu's eyes, the form of not-Mitsunari blurred and then reappeared before him – too close, much too close – and a shining blade descended toward his head. The Gold General darted out of reach of the antique sword and closed in for a hit.

Then he hesitated. Even if he wasn't quite there, Mitsunari was still inside. Hurting not-Mitsunari was the same as hurting Mitsunari himself and Ieyasu was adverse to violence toward friends.

Not-Mitsunari swung his blade in a jagged arc toward Ieyasu's torso and the brunet quickly slammed a palm into Mitsunari's wrist. The sword changed direction and in one quick strike, Ieyasu disarmed his friend, the odachi lost in the chaotic night.

Thin laughter caused both of them to stop and look.

"Haha- Oh, no, don't stop on my account." Hanbei Takenaka strode out of the shadows, a near mad grin on his face.

"Hanbei! Why are you here?" A furious glint entered Ieyasu's gaze as he glared at the white-haired murderer. "You have some guts coming back here after what you did."

Not-Mitsunari decided to remain silent and observe. Something struck it as odd – the reactions made here to this newcomer did not align with the memories that its host retained.

"Oh, nothing important…" A frankly frightening expression crossed Hanbei's face.

"I want your souls for what you took from me."

Ieyasu blinked in surprise.

"Took from you? _You_ were the one who took from _us_! You killed Hideyoshi then framed me for it, turned my best friend against me, destroyed our _family_ – and you have the nerve to accuse me of stealing," Ieyasu snarled, breathing hard.

Hanbei's face twisted. "BOTH of you stole Hideyoshi from me. He was _mine_ and you took his attention, took his devotion – sure it may have been helped along by Yoshitsugu but I will _never_ forgive you for what you did to me!"

Ieyasu gaped at the madman.

"You're insane," he breathed. "You've gone insane…"

The former White Knight of the Hideyoshi Clan cackled, raising the hairs on both men's necks with his next words.

"And yet you've fallen for my plan so perfectly: the creation of the drug that would eventually lead to the both of you killing each other, the instigation of the gang war, the corruption of your so-called 'friends'… that was all my hand!"

Not-Mitsunari finally spoke up, rankled by the idea that it was created for the sole purpose for revenge rather than wish-granting.

"Ah, no. See, that's where you're wrong. I only exist because and for men to grant their desires – I am not one of your stepping stones to get back at these _boys_ because your faggot lover lost interest in you." It hissed.

Hanbei seemed to swell with anger before containing it with a thin smile.

"I created you as nothing more than a predictable instrument. You are a tool. Nothing more."

Not-Mitsunari took one step forward and the ground beneath him exploded upwards. It would have been severely injured had not Ieyasu seen the odd circular shape in between the cobblestones and yanked the other back in time.

Blinking in shock at the smoking divot in the ground, it spared the other a look of faint gratitude before scowling again.

"Cheap tricks…"

"There are unarmed bombs there too." A voice rang out over the square. All heads whipped up to a balcony overlooking East Street and the square, upon which stood Motonari and Yoshitsugu, watching.

"That's impossible! You couldn't have been able to prepare that far in advance." Hanbei hissed.

Motonari cast a single glance at Hanbei.

"You still cannot beat me at chess. What makes you think you will defeat me in life?"

"I made preparations for your war, Tokugawa. Do not waste them." Motonari said before he stepped into the apartment and out of view. Yoshitsugu hesitated, sending a look of sorrow toward Not-Mitsunari before wheeling in afterwards.

Not-Mitsunari placed a gentle hand on Ieyasu's shoulder.

"I got this." It said and braced itself, letting out a cloud of crystalline breath. As the fog spiralled into the air, it shuddered as Mitsunari disappeared from view.

Ieyasu allowed himself a moment of nostalgia. The Mitsunari he knew was not a sprinter for nothing. The drug, from what he'd heard, took down the body's limits and allowed for the impossible. As Ieyasu watched the bombs before him go off in succession, there was not a single doubt in his mind that this Mitsunari would be hit.

It almost reminded him of when they used to fight together – Mitsunari would clear the way and Ieyasu would finish up.

Fighting down the grin creeping onto his face, Ieyasu ran into the clearing dust to where he heard the clash of a King and Knight.

* * *

Masamune and Yukimura grasped at each other's hand as they pelted through narrow corridors and alleys, directing the crowd in front as the hellhounds behind closed in. Masamune handed two swords over to Yukimura as he sheathed all but one of his own.

"Here, the sword will both protect and hurt you so use it carefully." Masamune told his lover in between huffs of air. Yukimura only nodded, concentrating his power into running away from the encroaching Silver Blades.

They had to make it to the main square where Kojuro and the local police force would have drug cures ready. It was in an experimental stage but, considering the week Kojuro had to obtain the drug and create a cure, it had to do.

They rounded a bend and barrelled into a residential district. Cutting across someone's front garden, they made a beeline for the main road, scattering the fleeing Eastern Alliance who all seemed to be trying to shake at least one Silver Blade.

A group of Silver Blades shot out of a side-alley and Yukimura and Masamune backpedalled, planting their backs against the other.

"Walk away, guys… You don't want to be fighting with us." Masamune growled as Yukimura glanced at the street distance. They could see the fountain and hear explosions as if someone were setting off firecrackers down the road.

A Silver Blade leapt forward and Masamune sidestepped them, landing a heavy hit on the back of the neck with the blunt side of his sword. The man went down and did not stir again.

"Now, again. Walk to the square or we'll drag your unconscious arses there."

The four other Silver Blades roared in unison and charged.

Yukimura followed Masamune's example and only used the blunt end of the sword to deliver damage, using the razor edge only in non-lethal areas.

Soon, all four were on the floor out cold.

The two each took an arm and started hauling the bodies toward the square.

"Are you sure Kojuro said that the gas will only work on them if they breathe it? And that Miss Saica insists that this drug debacle remain quiet?" Yukimura asked between pulls.

Masamune sighed and dropped the two he was pulling, unsheathing his sword again.

"This should be close enough. And yeah, she doesn't want to deal with the paperwork afterwards or something." Masamune scowled.

Yukimura laughed and that instantly brought a gentle smile to Masamune's face.

He leaned forward to steal a quick kiss but was interrupted by a knot of Silver Blades appearing out of an alley. One of the men pulled up a sawed-off shotgun and aimed at Yukimura. Before the shot even left the barrel, a bronze shadow flowed over the dark road and disarmed the man, slamming him into another.

Sasuke shot a look over his shoulder at Yukimura and was relieved to see recognition and relief in those brown eyes. Yukimura shot him a shaky, grateful smile and Tenko was off again like a monkey out of a box.

Masamune and Yukimura made short work of the rest.

"Yukimura-"

"It's alright, Masamune," Yukimura reassured. "I've already forgiven Tenko."

Msaamune smiled as well and turned to the front.

An impact hit his jaw which made his vision black and it sent him flying backwards with a cry. He dimly heard the clatter of his swords on the concrete and the registration that Yukimura had been hit too (with a metal pipe from the feel of it). He struggled to stay awake and felt the displacement of air as the pipe was lifted upward for an overhead swing.

When his vision cleared, his world stopped.

Yukimura was laying beside him, a puddle of black already spilling out onto the street from beneath his head. He eyes were unfocused one half open and unseeing. Blood ran from the cut above his eyebrow where the pipe had split his skin.

Masamune's blood ran cold and vision went red.

For a moment, he blacked out and the next thing he knew, he was gently cradling Yukimura as e finished calling an ambulance.

Tears pattered down onto Yukimura's cheeks as he muttered a mantra of:

"I'm sorry. I love you. Don't die."

* * *

Ieyasu's arm cocked back for a punch as he registered that other people were in the square now. They had to finish this fight now, otherwise someone may step on a mine and hurt themselves unwittingly.

Hanbei flowed with ease around both Not-Mitsunari and Ieyasu's attacks, laughing while he danced further away. A knife flashed in his direction and Ieyasu slammed a fist into the attacker's face, hissing with pain as bruises formed and cuts reopened.

Not-Mitsunari had to dodge several more attacks before trying a grab, of which Hanbei slithered out of with ease before the hold was finished.

They were running out of time.

Hanbei slipped past again and made a run for a narrow opening. He skidded to a halt when an anchor embedded itself into the ground before him.

"Sorry, but it seems you'll be staying awhile, matey." Grinned Motochika as he hauled the monster polearm out of the cracked stone and mortar.

Hanbei clicked his tongue and dropped a cherry-sized item that flashed a brilliant white.

"Shit, I can't see!" Ieyasu heard Motochika curse and the impostor Mitsunari hiss with surprise.

His vision came back in blotchy spots as he leant down and picked up a stone.

He'd played shotput and darts at school and in his spare time so much that it's pretty much second nature. His ears picked out the familiar tread of Hanbei and sucking a gasp in, he lobbed the ball.

He was rewarded with a pained gasp, a crunch and the sound of knees hitting concrete along with a decent sized stone.

He grabbed the thin wrist next to him and Ieyasu ran for the sounds of pained gasps and panicked running. He kept his eyes trained on the white blob floating in the dark as the sounds of shoes hitting concrete echoed around.

There was a whistle behind him and Ieyasu knew the operation had begun. Saica and her police faction had released the gas that would cure the drug. He spared a glance at Not-Mitsunari who was coming back in drips when his foot fell unexpectedly into a dip.

Ieyasu's tired legs buckled and he rolled to a stop, gasping in pain.

"You alright?" Ieyasu could feel hands propping him upright against the wall as the pain in his jarred knee waned.

"Yeah," he gasped as he sucked in lungfuls of air, sweat coating his chilled skin.

After a moment, Ieyasu could stand again and he did just that, staring down the dark alley in which Hanbei disappeared.

Not-Mitsunari grunted and staggered.

"Ah, are you hurt or something?" Ieyasu asked as Mitsunari's light build pressed into him in order to stay upright.

Not-Mitsunari shook its head, then shuddered.

"It's been too long. I'm losing control of your friend."

"What? What's going on?" Ieyasu fought down the rising panic, coming to the conclusion that was happening before him.

"I'm fading. I can feel myself disappearing from the others in the square," Not-Mitsunari smiled wryly up at Ieyasu through white lashes. "You planned this, didn't you. The last time this body took a pill was nearly two days ago now… I'll fade away." Not-Mitsunari looked at Ieyasu with the terrified red eyes of his best friend.

"I don't want to die." He whimpered.

Ieyasu finally understood – an entity craving recognition by granting the desires of those it lived within. That was what the drug truly was.

He gathered the thin body of his friend up in a gentle embrace.

"You won't,"

The body froze, listening carefully.

"I'll remember you, I swear. You'll live on in my memory so you'll never die." Ieyasu said with conviction.

Warmth seeped into his shoulder and chilled almost instantly as the cold air began freezing the water.

"You don't understand."

Not-Mitsunari pulled away.

"When I disappear, your friend will be empty because-"

Ieyasu took the other's hands and held them in his own, keeping eye contact.

"Because…?" he prompted.

"…The Mitsunari you know hid in his subconsciousness. I can't find him and for all I know he could be gone forever."

Ieyasu's eyes widened. If the consciousness of the drug left, Mitsunari would be left as a husk, devoid of a mind of his own.

"You need to find him," Not-Mitsunari cracked a tiny smile. "I know you will. Don't let me down."

Ieyasu's brow creased with worry.

Hands pressed into his shoulders, gently pinning him to the brick wall behind.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Ieyasu asked nervously.

Red eyes glowed with amusement.

"Granting Mitsunari's real wish."

Cold, soft lips pressed into his own mouth and their eyes slipped closed on their own accord. Ieyasu angled his head and pressed a firmer kiss into smiling lips when the other body went slack and slumped.

He hurriedly clamped onto the other's thin frame and opened his eyes to check on Mitsunari.

As he'd expected, Mitsunari's eyes were a dark, faraway green – unseeing to all.

Tears slid down his face anyway.

* * *

The last conscious body dropped as the last of the gas dissipated. Kojuro stood atop a store building next to the commander-in-chief Saica Magoichi.

"Clean-up crew, you're up." She ordered into her transmitter and a static reply bled through.

Turning away, Kojuro pulled out his phone to call Masamune.

Praying to gods he didn't really believe in (but it couldn't hurt to try), he hoped that nothing adverse had happened to his ward.

* * *

His breath was making smaller and smaller clouds in the air as Hanbei stumbled through the streets of Sakigahara city.

A hacking cough ripped through his chest and he felt the metallic clumps of blood at the back of his throat. Pushing past a wrought-iron fence, Hanbei staggered into the graveyard. Stumbling more than once, the White Knight of the dead Hideyoshi Army made his way to a small headstone.

It was clean after all the years and a light coating of snow had clumped on the top. Knocking the powder off with numb hands, Hanbei settled next to Hideyoshi Toyotomi's grave and traced the carved letters.

_Inspired all_

_Power was bestowed upon him_

_Here he rests_

_King of our hearts_

Two cold rings glittered in the moonlight and Hanbei gingerly picked them up.

Both of them were badges that Hideyoshi had given to his two young protégés when he declared them generals.

One was a gold Sunburst in a circle while the other was a silver Crescent. Both were spotless, as if they had been meticulously cared of and placed by the grave the day before.

He pulled his own badge out from his pocket – he took it everywhere he went. A white sword in white gold. Hanbei let out a huff of amusement.

He was as tarnished as his own badge.

Gently, he placed his badge down beside Ieyasu and Mitsunari's.

_May you rest in peace, my Lord._

.

.

.

In the cold light of dawn, Keiji Maeda found Hanbei Takenaka leaning gently against Hideyoshi's grave, as frozen as the morning.


	21. What Makes 11

Love, The Cassette Tape

**5**

**A review reply to WingsOfLibra: Thanks for reviewing, heck I needed that. I'm glad that you're enjoying this. C: Though you may not after this chapter… this was just as hard to write as it was to read and edit afterwards.**

**Sorry guys, but… I don't really know what to say but this was inevitable. Just as a warning, there's five chapters after this… and things may or may not get better. I'm a horrid writer and I've never done this kind of thing before… sorry. You can all throw rocks at me or something. Stab me with flaming pitchforks/spears too.**

**But seriously, we all saw this coming.**

**Full Title: What Makes 11%**

* * *

Yukimura Sanada woke to a warm hand cupping his and a throbbing head ache. The hospital gown he wore itched like crazy and what felt like a brick weighed down his head as he tried to sit up.

"What happened?" he asked before Masamune and Sasuke tackled him with worried hugs.

Yukimura gently pushed his brother and lover away to inspect them properly. Masamune's eye was red from crying and Sasuke had his arm in a sling, but was looking just as distraught.

"What's going on? What happened? What day is it? Did I miss anything?" Yukimura kept asking. Finally, Masamune answered.

"You were hit on the head during the fight," Masamune glanced at Sasuke who sat resignedly in his chair. "The doctors say that you have a contusion in your brain and they need to take it out otherwise you'll undergo cerebral stroke and get aphasia."

Yukimura blinked in shock. He had no idea what half the words meant but he guessed it was bad. Very bad.

"Yes, then! Take it out!" He insisted before he was shushed again.

"The doctors also say that if they do, it's an 89% chance that you'd contract amnesia. You'd never remember us."

Yukimura stopped and stared at each and every person who was gathered in his hospital room. Motochika and Mori sat next to each other on one side of the room wearing solemn expressions while Kojuro stood by the door.

Never remember them? Yukimura contemplated a life without the people surrounding him. Impossible.

Speaking of which…

"Um… Where's Ieyasu Tokugawa… and Mitsunari…?"

Sasuke and Masamune shared a look. "It's just been a day but we'll find them eventually."

Yukimura's expression became crestfallen.

"Why'd you wait for me to wake up?" Yukimura asked.

Masamune smiled gently and brushed away some hair from Yukimura's cheek. "You make your own decisions. Not us."

Yukimura was silent for a moment.

11% chance of success. He'd have his luck and the hopes of his friends in the operating room. Would it be enough to pull him through?

"I'll do the surgery."

* * *

"You wouldn't have believed his face! It was priceless." Ieyasu smiled into the cold eyes of his friend sitting upright in his own bed. He had spent most of Mitsunari's waking hours talking to him, retelling stories from their childhood. He had started with meaningful stories that quickly devolved into anything he could think of.

His voice was hoarse.

Next thing he would try would probably be mindless begging.

"I wish you didn't look so sad," he said, sitting cross-legged on the cheap carpet, staring up at him.

He felt as if he'd lost his brain-to-mouth filter.

Ieyasu hadn't eaten since… well, before the war began. But he had to keep talking, keep trying to get Mitsunari back. Ieyasu promised.

"I missed talking to you the most. After Hideyoshi died, that is," Ieyasu rested tiredly against the bedside table. "We always had fun. You, oh you, always had a knack for getting us into fights but, God were they fun. You were always the best at fighting-"

"_I didn't think I was ever good at anything… until you thought so."_

Ieyasu's head shot up as if he'd been electrified but the body on the bed gave no indication that he had moved at all, let along _talked_.

But Ieyasu was desperate.

"You were," he pleads insistently. "You were fucking _fantastic_. Brilliant. Six ways to Sunday. You were a hero."

His eyes glittered like jewels.

"You always put everything on the line for us. All or nothing but every time we won, you made it seem so _easy_. You made me believe we could win every battle we came across and I fucking love you for it."

The body takes a breath. A real breath and it's in that moment where Ieyasu realises he's been smiling – a real one. Not the smiles his put up for the gang or for his friends. A good for honest smile and it starts to hurt.

Tears fall as Mitsunari blinks and looks over at Ieyasu, truly alive for the first time in years.

* * *

"Masamune…" Yukimura started, nervously grabbing at his lover's hand. The rest of the group had tactfully left to wait in the actual waiting room rather than intrude upon the time Masamune and Yukimura had left together before (potentially) Yukimura forgot about them all permanently.

"Yes, love?" Masamune pulled himself from his thoughts to pay attention to his lover.

"I didn't get to say it before…" It really was getting close to the operation time. "But I wanted to say that I… love you."

Yukimura turned beet red and looked down at the sheets he sat in and looked at Masamune when his fingertip forced him to.

"I love you too." Masamune's eyes held a sense of anger at himself for not preventing what had happened, fear for Yukimura and their future but unconditional love.

"I love you more than you could ever know."

* * *

It had been hours since Yukimura had been admitted into surgery. Masamune, Motochika and Sasuke sat in the waiting room, breathing tension-thick air. Mori and Kojuro had left a short while ago; Kojuro went to work and Mori claimed that he had better things to do.

The light above the operation room flicked off and Sasuke was first off his chair and in the operation room to see Yukimura like the whirlwind he was.

Secretly, Sasuke felt responsible for Yukimura's condition. If only he hadn't gotten side-tracked or had gone with Yukimura instead, maybe he wouldn't be in this situation. He was Tenko freaking Kamen. The deadman of the Ruby Claws. The Crimson Tiger's Shadow.

How could he drop the ball like that?

Masamune knew he would sit back and wait because Yukimura would much prefer to see his older brother before seeing his lover. After all, he did just have brain surgery.

They had all said their private prayers, Masamune being the one with the mantra of 'let him be in the 11%, let him be in the 11%'. Kojuro had his head bowed (which was a rare sight if any) and Masamune had no doubt that he did care for the brunet waiter because he mattered to Masamune.

Motochika hadn't talked – in which it was both a gift and a curse. Mori hadn't talked either but he sat with everyone else until his patience wore out.

The two eye-patch buddies of over five years stood in a comfortable if tense silence, waiting for the verdict from Sasuke.

"Do you think he's made it through?" Motochika's voice, though quiet, was shockingly loud in the thick atmosphere of the hospital. "I mean, hypothetically, if he didn't, what would you do?"

On any other day, Masamune would have given his friend a scowl or flipped him the bird but this time, he considered the question seriously.

"I think I might not want to see him if he doesn't remember me," Masamune let out a soft sigh. "I think it's my fault Yukimura is like this now. If I hadn't brought him with me to fight those people…"

_Or come here in the first place._

"Maybe he wouldn't be injured."

Motochika sighed. Just like something Masamune would think up.

He had always put the blame upon himself when a serious relationship went wrong. Perhaps it was habit from living with Yoshi and her mental instability. Or it could just be his personality.

Either or.

But for Yukimura, Motochika hadn't seen Masamune do even a fraction of all the things for the waiter than for anyone else in the time that he had known the other man. Not even for him.

Maybe it was fate but from Motochika's point of view, Yukimura was destined to be Masamune's partner in life.

The way they talked.

The way they fought.

Even the way they walked down the street together.

Even strangers would be able to see the bond between the two, and that was real.

No, Motochika couldn't doubt the faith the two had in each other. They couldn't afford to.

The door swung open again.

Sasuke stepped out with the most stricken expression upon his face. One that Motochika or Masamune wouldn't have ever thought possible for the usually apathetic man.

It was an expression of despair and fear.

He was not one of the 11%.

Yukimura Genjiro Sanada was gone.


	22. Sixth Degree of Separation

Love, The Cassette Tape

**4**

**Guest Review replies:**

**Neko: Ehh, I know it's sad but Yukimura didn't die! Maybe his past self did but Yukimura isn't actually dead… That would make me cry too. TT^TT**

**WingsOfLibra: I've only figured out you're not up to this bit yet so this is a reply to you until you get here. Thanks for reviewing so many times, and I hope you like it so far. And I admit, Yukimura is a bit out of character, but personally, I made him to be more demure in the 21st century because Shingen is the type of father to kindly but firmly beat manners into you whether you like it or not. Yukimura's scared (_I_ would be scared if drunk guys started chasing me and then kidnapped me), so that's why he doesn't do anything drastic like punch said drunkard into a cleverly placed tree. Also, he's in the middle of Scales territory and he doesn't know his way around. Yukimura is more a figurehead leader so he doesn't actually get a lot of first-hand experience in fights, though he was taught self-defence by Shingen in the past.**

**Hi: Er, thanks for reminding me! ^^;**

**[edit]: Son of a line break...**

**Full Title: Sixth Degree Of Separation**

* * *

Sasuke kept walking listlessly out of the door. The rest sat in a shocked silence until Masamune stormed out of the corridor, kicking the swinging doors open.

There it was: another crack in Masamune's shell named the "Azure Dragon". If this kept up, the façade might just break – then everyone could see what Masamune Date was really like.

In his blind rage, he nearly bumped into another doctor who was wearily massaging his neck.

"Oh, you're one of Yukimura's friends, right?"

Masamune's head shot up to look at the doctor who looked down at the papers he was reading.

"Yeah, what of it?" Masamune growled.

The doctor sighed. "For this to happen when Shingen was showing signs of waking up… It must be hard on the older brother."

Masamune's eyes widened. "Shingen's going to be alright?" Sure the old man may be huge and frightening (especially for Masamune), but he had warmed to the guy nonetheless.

The doctor nodded. "Yeah, the old guy might just be up and about in a few weeks. Maybe less."

This lifted Masamune's spirits a little.

But Sasuke didn't know this…

"SASUKE!"

* * *

Sasuke had quickly hitched a ride on a tram that had happened to pass by. As he reflected on his life, he realised it was just one unfortunate event after another.

The roar of a motorbike alerted Sasuke to flip up the collar of the coat he was wearing and look as inconspicuous as possible.

Sasuke leapt off at the next stop and walked along the street until he found himself on the West Canal. A few wilting flowers were taped to the rusting metal strut. He hopped onto the bridge railing, and sat and stared out at the slow-moving mass of water. He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to stretch.

He heard the roar of cars as they passed by, the rustle of leaves in the faint breeze, the stench of frozen sluggish water and the footsteps of people on the secondary walkway below the bridge.

Life would just move on without Yukimura and his ignorance. Perhaps life could move on without Sasuke too, seeing as he was nothing more than a tool without a user.

Sasuke got to his feet, grabbing a steel cable with his right hand. The metal leeched away the warmth in his hand, leaving it as cold as the grave. As cold as the water below.

He heard someone far away yell his name – it sounded remarkably like Masamune – but he let the sound fall away into the cacophony of noise around him.

He couldn't protect Yukimura. He was just a broken tool convincing himself that there wasn't a gaping crack in the blade.

The breeze blew stronger and it tugged at Sasuke's loose clothes and he felt his black bandana slip loose – the bandana Yukimura had made for him for his fifteenth birthday.

_Sorry, Yuki,_ Sasuke thought. _But I'm going to have to leave you for a bit_.

A scream shattered the air as a passer-by realised what he was going to do.

"Someone stop him!" he heard Masamune cry.

And he stepped into air.

* * *

A clueless Yukimura sat upright in his bed, looking around with mild curiosity.

His head was bound heavily with bandages and he was surrounded by a rather peculiar group of people.

He quickly realised that his head was empty. Of conscious thought, that is – memories. Everything else was there; speech, writing, basic knowledge and common sense (though he soon found out that there really wasn't much of the last two categories from his old mind).

"How are you feeling?" Asked the white-haired man wearing a coat funny.

"Fine." Replied Yukimura.

He thought of the man who had burst into the room just as he was about to get up, shouting 'Yukimura'. When the man saw the expression on his face, he seemed to deflate and walked out without a word.

Then these people came in.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Yukimura asked.

They all shared a look then the man with the scar on his face said in a quiet voice, "You've got amnesia so everyone here knows you… but you don't know us at all."

Yukimura nodded in understanding. That explained the reaction of the first man.

"Do I have family?" Yukimura asked. The small brunet said, "Yes, you do. Your adoptive father is in the hospital due to poisoning and your foster brother was probably the first person you met."

Yukimura nodded, absorbing these facts.

"Uh… Mori, how did you know all that?" The brunet gave the white-haired speaker a flat look before turning back to Yukimura.

"Anything else I need to know?"

The white-haired man bit his lip. "You're twenty, and you live with your father and brother in an apartment though lately you've been living with a friend. Um… Your family owns a café with this guy," he gestured at the short brunet. "And you were the leader of the Ruby Claws. That's a gang in Sakigahara City. Where we are right now."

Yukimura's expression softened to take in all the information.

"Can I go home soon?" The nurse that was checking his vitals looked over.

"You can leave when a guardian can come pick you up or at the end of three weeks."

The three other people shared a look, the question of which option would come first.

* * *

"_This_ is why I'm not a morning person." Muttered Ieyasu as he hung upside down, clinging onto Sasuke's left forearm as Mitsunari attempted to pull him back over the railing of the underpass below the West Canal Bridge.

Why did he react then think after? I mean, throwing himself off a walkway to grab some suicidal idiot and leaving Mitsunari to deal with saving the both of them, while heroic, was not entirely _clever_.

"Oh, my God." Said a passer-by and Ieyasu rolled his eyeballs. You'd think he'd have enough common sense to help.

His fingers started to ache badly. Bandages still covered the deep cuts and heavy bruising from the period before the gang war. All this for a Ruby Claws assassin. You'd think he was skilled enough to not waste it all and jump off a bridge.

He felt his grip on Sasuke's arm loosen.

If they didn't die from falling into the freezing canal, Ieyasu would die from the death rays being burnt into the back of his head. Mitsunari had said that his kind nature would be the death of him.

"Ieyasu, let me go." Sasuke shouted up at him over the roar of moving water and ice.

"Forget it. Even if I drop you, you won't die." Ieyasu returned as Masamune ran down the stairs to the underpass and helped Mitsunari pull the younger brunet up to safety.

"You're all lucky that I don't have my sword with me," Muttered Mitsunari under his breath as soon as Ieyasu was on steady ground and had begun to pull the Ruby Claw assassin over the railing.

"Sasuke, you're a fucking moron." Masamune said from the floor across from Sasuke. Sasuke just gave a weak glare and sank back into depression.

"Did you hear me? I said you were a moron. M-O-R-O-N."

"Yes, I know that!" snapped the russet-haired man and then got a face full of cloth. Wrenching the cloth off his face, Sasuke realised that it was his bandana that had blown off on the bridge.

He stared at the worn cloth. He'd worn this bandana every day of his life since its creation two hours before his fifteenth birthday. Sasuke absently ran a finger over large, cumbersome stitches, then stitches he had made himself over the years.

"Shingen's going to be fine. He should be leaving the hospital in a few weeks." Masamune said. Sasuke's head shot up in surprise.

Masamune shrugged. "You left before the doctor could tell you,"

"So you get it now. Shingen needs you for support because he's going to wake up one day and find that one of his sons is an amnesiac."

Sasuke was silent for a while, then let out a breath of relief and a bit of resignation. "What are you going to do? Are you going to go back?"

Masamune became thoughtful and quiet settled over him.

"Well, I think us two are going to leave you guys be," Ieyasu finally said to break the silence. "See ya."

Both Sasuke and Masamune looked up in surprise. Both of them had forgotten that the two alliance leaders were standing by them.

"Oh… Uh, yeah. See ya."

As the two walked away, they heard Mitsunari ask Ieyasu, "What are they talking about?"

Ieyasu shrugged and the two disappeared from view.

"When did those two get so buddy-buddy? I thought they hated each other's guts." Masamune muttered in amazement.

Sasuke shrugged and pulled on his bandana. _Since when had he and Masamune been on such good terms?_

"Sasuke," Masamune shifted to rest his back on the metal railing next to them. Sasuke looked over, finished fixing his bandana back onto his head. "I've actually been thinking about it since Yukimura went into surgery but I think I know what to do now."

Sasuke joined Masamune on the railing. "Okay."

"I'm going to take over my family's company. I'm going back to Shuu-o Town and I will clear out the guys who are making the drugs that are going around now." Masamune stated. Sasuke glanced sidelong at the eye-patched man.

"That's not going to stop the drug from circulating."

"I know. But it'll keep the reputation of the company safer so trouble will be quieter," Masamune rubbed his hand over his face. The next part was going to be the hardest.

"I'm going to leave you and Yukimura the apartment we were living in."

Sasuke sat bolt upright. "What?! No, we can't take-"

"Yes, **you will**, Sasuke." Masamune growled with a sense of austerity. Sasuke suddenly realised that it must be seriously hurting the Azure Dragon to be doing this too. Throughout the entire time since the end of the gang war, Masamune's façade as the "Azure Dragon" was cracking at an ever increasing rate.

And just maybe, Sasuke could see a little of the real dragon beneath the cracks.

"I don't care what you do with your other apartment; just don't get rid of our one. And," Masamune's crumbling mask finally gave way and in that one moment, Sasuke could see how deep the wound was for Masamune. "I need you to help me pack. For real this time."

The two finally made their way back up the stairwell that deposited them on the main street. A small crowd had gathered around the edge of the bridge and a witness of Sasuke's suicidal attempt was blathering in shock to anyone within earshot of the event.

"Oh, my gosh. I think he's dead and I didn't even try to stop the guy!" The lady burst into tears and a bystander awkwardly patted the woman's shoulder.

Sasuke could feel the smirk on Masamune's face.

"Shut up."

"But I haven't said anything yet!"

Sasuke's phone rang in his back pocket and he casually flipped it open and held it against his ear.

"Hello?"

'_Hi, Sasuke. I had to borrow Yukimura's phone to get your number. It's Motochika.'_

Sasuke scowled at his phone. His day just had to go from bad to worse. Scratch that. From shit to downright hellish. Sasuke wondered if there was an omniscient deity out there, because they really seemed to want to fuck with him at every opportunity.

Besides, who gave Motochika the right to call his phone after all that time making sure it never fell into the wrong hands. He glanced at Masamune.

Then again, 'the wrong hands' didn't seem so wrong now.

"Well, what is it?" he snapped. Masamune looked over with curiosity.

'_The doctors say that Yukimura has to stay for a couple more scans but he can pretty much leave straight away, but they're wondering when you're able to come back and pick your brother up.'_

Sasuke froze in his spot and Masamune paused to look back at the older Shingen ward, about to strap his helmet onto his head.

"J-just tell them that I'll be around to pick him up whenever they want. Hey, can you get everyone to meet up at the old abandoned car park in the south-east?"

'_Is that the old Ruby Claws hideout?'_

"Yeah."

"_Uh… sure. I mean, just the people here or EVERYONE, everyone?"_

"Everyone, everyone. Get as many people from the war as possible."

"_You know that's going to take a while."_

"I know. I just need to organise some stuff before Yukimura is out of the hospital."

"…_Has it got to do with Masamune?"_

Sasuke casually turned away from his brother's waiting boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend in a few hours if his ninja sense was right.

"Of course."

"_Alright. I'll see you there tomorrow evening."_

Sasuke shut his phone then accepted the offered black, flame-painted helmet and sat behind Masamune as they drove toward the Date-owned flat in the north.

* * *

Motochika sat next to Yukimura in the hospital awkwardly whiling away his time as Yukimura, having finished his last scan, sat on his bed and stared at the blank television with a baleful look.

He wondered what Masamune was going to do. Most likely go back to Shuu-o Town if he knew the man well enough. Motochika guessed that Masamune would be packing his bags right now, getting Kojuro to order plane tickets.

He let a sigh slip out. This was the worst Motochika had seen both Masamune and Sasuke and he hoped the two hadn't gone and done something stupid.

Like jump off a bridge.

He flipped his phone open and began a text. There would be a lot of work involved to get most of the people in the gang war to meet up in the old Ruby Claws hideout. By the time he was finished, his send list was over 50 names long.

He frowned and began cutting the list down to people who knew of Masamune's relationship with Yukimura. If he was right, the meeting would be something on the lines of 'never mention Masamune to the amnesiac little brother/former leader of the Ruby Claws'.

He smirked at his list of twenty-three people. Sometimes Motochika loved being a genius.

Most people wouldn't pin Motochika for being one, but seriously, his strategies and smart-alec ways would have been a dead giveaway. At least, to him.

Motochika repressed the urge to cackle aloud madly.

"What are you smiling at?" Asked Yukimura.

Oops. Forgot an impressionable amnesiac was in the same room.

Motochika hit the send button and shut his purple phone. "Nothing. I got a good text."

Yukimura seemed satisfied with the answer and turned away to resume his blank-television-staring.

"Hey…" Motochika started. Yukimura turned to him expectantly.

_Shit, what am I doing? You're a genius yet you can't control your motor-mouth. Lovely, _Motochika thinks.

"Uh… I mean, can I ask you a question?" Motochika stuttered lamely.

Yukimura blinked, waiting.

"Do you remember anything?"

_Clever._

"No…?" Yukimura gave the snowy-haired man an odd look.

"O-oh. Alright. I mean, if you want to ask me about anything from before you had amnesia, I'd be happy to answer your questions." Motochika flailed for words that didn't lead to Masamune. He considered that his eye-patch buddy wouldn't be too happy if he was mentioned while he wanted to be invisible.

"Oh… thank you." Yukimura beamed at Motochika and instantly, the larger man felt as is a whole load of bad karma had been dumped on his soul.

* * *

Masamune surveyed his… no, _their_ apartment.

It sat quietly, bereft of every personal object that could suggest that anything more than air had filled its space.

No… He could still see the slight hints of Yukimura and his own eclectic style. The angle of the sitting chair – perfect for Masamune's height so he wouldn't have to crane his neck to watch the television. The extending footrest on one end of the sofa was slightly jammed, though it was the perfect elevation for Yukimura while playing videogames lying upside down. The pedantic system of DVD cataloguing that both seemed to understand yet not explain to anyone else.

Their past was still in here. Hiding, but in plain sight.

Masamune held back a breath and slowly,

Shut

The door.

* * *

**Kill me now.**

**Drop me a review for your prime shot at me.**


	23. Neither There Nor Here

Love, The Cassette Tape

**3**

**I'm sorry, people. It's no more fun writing this than reading it too.**

**Thank you everyone for your reviews!**

**Full Title: Neither There Nor Here**

* * *

Yukimura stared at the plastic rectangle in his hands. It was wound all the way to the end, thin black tape staring up at him as if he should remember the voice on it but he _can't_. He knew he should – the cold yet sweet tone, rough around the edges like the man on the other end had been _crying_.

Somehow he knew this enigma should never cry, much less for him.

The player sat in front of him, battered and scratched in places, yet he could tell the previous owner loved it a lot. Soft, waltzing melodies floated through his head unbidden and Yukimura shakes it, hair flying, eyes shut.

He couldn't take it any more.

His past.

The other 'Yukimura'.

"This world is nothing but void – everything good is weighed evenly with all the bad," He whispered to himself as tears slid down his face and splattered on the black marks that spelt out, _**Love, the Cassette Tape**_.

"But damn it, you must have been something really good."

* * *

Sasuke could see that Yukimura had long since given up on trying to recover the bonds he held before his amnesia. It used to be questions every day. It was like teaching a child again and yet, Sasuke never seemed to tire of it. However, when the questions waned and the world became busier for him, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little… lost.

He was exhausted after every day too. Sasuke wouldn't let Yukimura work in the Kai Café purely because he was still 'recovering'.

In between the constant barrage of questions in the first few weeks and the café nearly running the Takeda family into the ground, Sasuke was hard pressed for time. Motochika worked both in the café and the bar on alternate days and business was starting to pick up again since the whole gang war scare.

Why won't you let me talk to that person we met on the street? Who is that person in this photo? Why won't you tell me about everything about 'Yukimura'?

Yukimura referred to the person before the amnesia as 'Yukimura' – with inverted commas and everything. He still seemed to be coming to terms with even the formerly familiar things in his life. The apartment he lived in, for example.

The dark coffee table, black sofa and small kitchen in the living room, the double bed in the room next to the bathroom – all of it had been shuffled around haphazardly by the little brunet and when Sasuke returned during his lunch break to check up on his brother, everything had been placed wrong. Even to him.

Yukimura often bumped into furniture that had been moved around. Sasuke would watch his brother from the kitchen in the evening as Yukimura walked around, hands absently running over every surface as if to memorise the position.

It was times like these that Sasuke wished that _he_ hadn't left. As much as he loathed that eye-patched bastard, _he_ had become an integral part of his life and Sasuke couldn't escape that fact.

Things started to look marginally better after Magoichi Saica's media statement concerning the gang war. They put it down to external factors and the instigating parties had already fled out of their jurisdiction or were dead. Not long after that, Shingen regained consciousness and the three moved back into the old flat in the west.

Sasuke was overjoyed but it was clear that the Takeda family had a long way to go before their lives even resembled normal. Shingen and Yukimura had immediately hit it off. Sasuke had initially been worried about Yukimura's reaction to a foster father who had been in a coma from before he underwent surgery to save his life. Those worries, however, had been wiped away when Shingen finally arrived home after being driven by Sasuke from the hospital.

The two had regarded each other for a moment then traded a handshake. This surprised Sasuke in the sense that Shingen hadn't sent Yukimura flying through the wall and into their neighbour's bedroom.

It _had_ happened…

Anyway, it took an hour for Shingen and Yukimura to meld properly and they had almost gone back to their normal routine in the old Takeda flat. Shingen sat and read the newspapers that had been piling up on the coffee table, and Yukimura played with his laptop or helped Sasuke in the kitchen while dinner was being prepared.

Sasuke kept the other apartment under lock and key.

Their lives continued onwards and Shingen recovered enough to resume working in the Kai Café. Yukimura began taking orders though it occasionally became awkward when a regular made a remark about him that the brunet had absolutely no idea about.

Oichi and Nagamasa returned to Sakigahara City and reopened their flower store. Some family troubles had led the couple back to the city and at least one of them would pop by the Kai Café once a week to arrange some leftover flowers free of charge. Both of them instinctively knew not to mention a certain eye-patched man in the Takeda wards' presences.

Since the burning of the Mikawa Delivery Service (the official cause being a blown fuse in one of the old lights), Ieyasu Tokugawa and Mitsunari Ishida had begun working in the Kai Café. Their tenants changed little and both fitted in nicely with the homely air of the Café. They had all decided to put aside their past errors (even if one of them didn't remember them), and they were all relatively happier.

But there was still the missing puzzle piece in all their lives to contend to.

This missing puzzle piece, though left alone by all concerned with him, came back to Yukimura in the strangest of ways.

Motochika introduced a slender, young actress in the second week of spring.

"Hi, I'm The White Crane Tsuruhime! I'm sure you've all heard of me, but I'm glad that I can meet you all in person… even though Motochika has told me all about you already." The young woman said in a bright voice.

Tsuruhime, or the White Crane, was a star for the popular television series: The Wings Of Destiny. All of them agreed that the series was trash – it was a TV program on a free station, of course it was rubbish – but she brought her future-reading skills and various other important-ish people who ran the television channel.

The city became much livelier, and being one of the most popular cafés in the city, so did the Kai Café. Talent scouts scoured the city and even Motochika – the most easy going and patient out of them all – were getting tired of the nosy reporters and hype.

Tsuruhime, however, was enjoying her time when she wasn't acting by spending it at the Takeda establishment.

Instantly, Ieyasu took a shine to her and they became fast friends. Mitsunari, typically, pushed her away, claiming that the prophecies she came up with were trash. Tsuruhime then took the snowy-haired man aside for about half an hour and as they talked, Ieyasu could see the tension that Mitsunari automatically put on with strangers melt away. When Ieyasu asked Mitsunari about Tsuruhime after their talk, the other shrugged with feigned nonchalance and said, "She's tolerable."

The two talked every day.

Motochika claimed to know the young woman since primary school but Tsuruhime then contradicted the statement that they had known each other since they were even younger because of their parents.

Sasuke rarely talked to the woman but still received kind words for her daily coffee and cake. Yukimura, however, had the closest relationship with her out of them all. They went almost everywhere together. Perhaps Yukimura could sense that Tsuruhime's clairvoyant powers could help him remember his past that he no longer needed. The two had moved into the northern apartment and Sasuke worried for Yukimura, Tsuruhime and the former owner of the flat.

It was then that Sasuke finally decided to casually leave an old cassette player for Yukimura on his next grocery stop.

It had the desired effect.

Yukimura had run into Sasuke the next day and demanded to know what the cassette tape was about. Sasuke feigned ignorance.

In fact, it wasn't completely ignorance – Sasuke did place the cassette player where Yukimura could find it but it had never been played by anyone else, nor had it been moved from its initial place. Sasuke just happened to see the ancient machine during one of his fortnightly cleaning rounds.

It had been cleverly hidden in the bedroom next to the bathroom – _their _former bedroom – under the dresser but when Sasuke pulled the slightly dusty machine from its hiding place, he knew immediately that _he_ intended for Yukimura to find it.

So he had left it in the hiding place and waited for the opportune moment to present it to his younger brother.

"What is this, Sasuke?" Yukimura presented a plastic cassette tape to his brother who shook his head as his boiled milk. "Who recorded the message on it?"

"It looks like a cassette tape," Sasuke said. "As to who recorded the message, I can't say. I've never listened to it."

Yukimura's gaze returned to the piece of plastic clutched in his hand and opened his mouth to say something more. Motochika then sauntered over and draped himself over Yukimura's shoulders.

"What have you got there?" He asked before going still. He recognised that handwriting.

"I don't know! I just found this in a cassette player yesterday." Yukimura began sulking.

"Motochika, get out of the kitchen."

"Yes sir~!"

"You too, Yukimura." Yukimura shot Sasuke a puppy face but the elder man had turned back to the coffee machine. The brunet then slunk out of the small kitchen.

"Would you like me to do a reading of that tape? I can probably find out who it's from." Tsuruhime offered from her table. Yukimura smiled and made his way over.

The young woman took the tape and placed it in the middle of her table. She then placed a paper crane from her pocket at Yukimura's end, a glass marble at the opposite end and placed a pink ribbon in a circle around the tape.

"It's different from how you do it on TV." Yukimura stated and Tsuruhime smiled knowingly.

"That's because I'm not serious on TV. This is how I do it when I'm serious." She closed her eyes and pulled out a small pouch of miniature chess pieces.

"Temple eight sea." Tsuruhime mumbled then opened her eyes.

Sticking her hand in, she tossed out a random handful into the pink circle of ribbon. The pieces made an alarming lot of sharp noises and Yukimura flinched but watched in fascination.

A Queen stood upright on the cassette tape along with a single pawn while a toppled King rolled half in, half out of the circle. A Knight lay on its side, pointing to the right of Yukimura while a Bishop rolled out of the circle. A Rook stood miraculously on its head off centre near the King.

The White Crane looked at the scene before here and jotted down notes on the back of Yukimura's waiters pad.

It suddenly occurred to Yukimura that he should have thought of a question like they do in the movies.

"Okay, your fortune concerns a key person in your life that you're about to lose," Tsuruhime pointed at the downed king then her finger travelled to the Queen. "That's you."

Yukimura blushed. Why did he have to be the only feminine chess piece out of them all?

"The knight I think is Ieyasu. It pointed at him when I threw them down and I don't doubt my predictions." Tsuruhime frowned. "I don't know who the bishop is… and I guess we'll find out who the rook and the pawn are in time too."

"But what have Ieyasu and the rest of the chess pieces got to do with the King?" Yukimura asked in confusion.

"I think it's because they're key to you finding out who your King is."

* * *

That night, Yukimura began having odd dreams. He was inside the sports store a few blocks away from the café. All the helmets stared blankly at him from their places on the shelves and he always found himself at the front of the store which was strange because he could be sure that the helmets were meant to be in the middle instead. In the window was a black motorcycle helmet with red flame patterns painted up the sides. The counter was empty.

Through the fogged window – it never fogged in that sort of area… why was it fogging now? – Yukimura just make out a figure leaning on a motorcycle silhouette with his own helmet on. The body looked so familiar to Yukimura. The contours and sharp angles of the man – it definitely looked like a man – stood in stark relief with the expanse of white beyond and upon his head was a dark blue helmet with a gold ring at the head. The dark glass of the helmet glinted vacantly at Yukimura.

Yukimura would then run over to the door in that slow, dream-like fashion. Just as he touched the door, he felt the chill of the metal streak up his arm. It was a blistering, shattering sort of cold – like sticking his hand into the canal water in winter.

He always ran too quickly and at the lightest push, cracks formed in Yukimura's hands, chasing the feeling of cold up his arms then through his body. With a crack, Yukimura would crumble to pieces as the man outside observed in silence, unmoving.

It had recurred like this for almost a week and it frightened Yukimura to the point where he told Sasuke about his dreams. Sasuke gained a strange look in his eye then lightly told him to put his worries aside – the nightmares would leave soon. And yet it continued still.

Then the dream changed after Yukimura had listened to the cassette tape.

"_It brings back memories, Yukimura."_

Yukimura had taken a step forward to touch the door. He jerked away from the door in shock. The man had never said anything before and he knew that he couldn't possibly hear the man from within the store. Even from here, he can feel the cold emanating from the steel door. Fear gripped at his insides as the motorcyclist moved for the first time.

He held out a black, gloved hand.

"_Just follow my lead, Yukimura…"_

Yukimura hesitated, and in that moment he knew he should not have. He sensed the presence of danger behind him and his dream-self whirled around to meet a suddenly empty store – no helmets on display, no bikes mounted on the wall. He felt his breath quicken yet his heart rate did not increase. Then he reassured himself that it was all a dream.

Then he turned.

A wave of black hands slammed into the window of the shop, rattling the glass with an alarming thump and Yukimura cried out in fear, reading the words painted a gruesome red upon the sable mash of hands in that split second…

WHERE ARE YOU

…before he shot upright in bed, sweat dampening his skin.

Then his heart decided to pound mercilessly in his chest.

Yukimura's breaths sounded harshly loud against his eardrums in the darkness and he feared to turn on a light. _Just a nightmare… just a nightmare,_ he told himself, yet somehow he knew that it wasn't _just_ a nightmare.

The next morning, Sasuke sensed that something troublesome had happened to his younger brother. He seemed a little too subdued – even more so than the normal effect of the amnesia.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked as they prepared for the day ahead.

Yukimura shook his head in a negative though his expression grew darker. "I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Was it that dream again?"

Yukimura hesitated before answering.

"Sort of…"

And they dropped the topic.

Their morning passed without incident. Yukimura and Sasuke were kept busy as usual but the elder Takeda ward could sense his brother's fatigue slowly seeping in.

"Yukimura," Sasuke placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Maybe you should go rest for a bit. You don't look that great."

Yukimura looked up in surprise. He hadn't heard his brother approach him (but then again, most people rarely did) and the offer for an early break was both tempting and suspicious.

"I'm fine, Sasuke. I can work for a little longer." He said with resolution though his body betrayed his weakness with a brief moment of light-headedness. Yukimura weaved on his feet and for a moment, all his senses blurred until he could feel Sasuke's steadying hand gripping his arm.

"No, you're not," Sasuke briefly looked around the quiet café before returning his attention to Yukimura. "How about we sit down and talk?"

They found refuge in the back of the unused kitchen beside a stove. They sat with their backs pressed against the metal bench and Sasuke handed a cup of water to his brother.

"Is it because of your nightmare?" Not being one to beat around the bush, Sasuke immediately returned to their topic of Yukimura's restless nights.

Yukimura stared into his cup as he ruminated about the latest dream. "Kind of."

"What happened? Is it like last time with the water?"

When Yukimura was younger – only a few months after the two had been adopted by Shingen – he had dreams of being trapped underwater, unable to reach the surface. They had faded over the years somewhat, but Sasuke knew that his brother was susceptible to psychological damage, especially in the form of dreams.

Yukimura shook his head in a negative. "This time it's different."

And so, Yukimura related the narrative of his dream to his brother. As he described the motorcycle man outside the helmet shop, Sasuke's face became clouded with anxiety… and hope?

"…Then I wake up shaking," Yukimura finished with a brooding expression. "Sasuke, what do you think it means?"

Sasuke leant silently against the warmed metal against his back. "Maybe you still have some of your memories in your brain. It's just a question of whether or not you can recover them or not."

"I've decided not to go digging for those memories anymore," Yukimura became grave. "It's better for everyone."

"No it's not!"

Yukimura looked up in surprise. Sasuke found himself on his feet and breathing heavy. He couldn't take seeing his brother give up so easily on his past. Of _him_.

"It's _not_ better for everyone, Yukimura. Did you consider the feelings of other people? Did it ever occur to you that you might not know the whole story? How can you just give up?!" Sasuke's rage burnt itself out – it had never been long with Yukimura but even his patience had limits – and it left him breathing hard, staring down as a stunned younger brother.

Immediately, Yukimura became defensive. "I never got the whole story because you didn't let me! I can't walk down the street without people either running out of my way or giving me looks as if I were some poor puppy. You have no idea how annoying and frustrating that is! I _did _want to know about my past but I never was given the opportunity to, and it's all because of you."

Sasuke blinked in surprise. Perhaps his brother was right in that sense.

Must be time to set it right.

"Fine. You want to know about your past? I'll take you to the one person we never told you about."

"We'll see then if you want to remain ignorant."


	24. Turning Down Tea

Love, The Cassette Tape

**2**

**Haha, once the tragic bit passes, people stop reviewing!**

**Anyway, the ends are being tied up now. Two more chapters to go!**

**Full Title: Turning Down Tea**

* * *

Mitsunari was lost. He had to admit it and he had been for a while now.

The directions on the sheet of paper with Ieyasu's unintelligible scrawl were indecipherable and it sawed at his last nerve.

How hard was it to find the police station in this damn city?!

Mitsunari crumpled the paper and shoved it back into his pocket. It was an uncharacteristically hot day – more like summer than spring, despite it being too early. His shirt clung to his back and he regretted wearing dark skinny jeans for today.

Mitsunari figured to admit defeat with grace and look for some directions. He ascended a small stairwell on the street and found himself in a white-washed office space with several people bustling around, waving around knickknacks of all kinds.

Mitsunari briefly wondered what he had walked into before attempting to gain someone's attention.

"Go check with the director."

"Sorry, I need to fix these hems."

"Ask someone else."

Mitsunari grew more and more frustrated as he stalked around the white corridors filled with preoccupied workers. It didn't help that the space was much, much warmer than outside and Mitsunari's last reserve of patience and pride were wearing spider web thin.

He rounded a corner and found himself in a brightly lit room – huge lights illuminating a wall that he unhappily walked upon.

"Hellllooooo~ my boy! Would you like some teaaaaa?"

_Snap._

"I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOUR BLOODY TEA!" Mitsunari roared.

There was silence in the large room as the man sitting at a wood table dressed in ludicrously out-dated turquoise clothes, sporting a just as ridiculous, stringy moustache gaped at him, teacup hanging limp from his fingers.

"Now, THAT'S what I want in my Alice!" the man cried and the fury within the white-haired man abated a little, only to be replaced by confusion.

"Huh?"

Set people behind him began applauding and Mitsunari couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious.

"My name is Yoshiaki Mogami and I, my boy, are a talent scout for my next play." Lauded the stringy-moustached man as he rose from his seat and performed a flamboyant bow.

Mitsunari rolled his eyes. "So?"

The team behind him let out horrified gasps and the man before him fell flat on his back.

And people thought _he_ was weird…

"My boy, I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime! You could become an international star if you worked long enough! Even if you don't make it internationally, you'd make oodles of money!" Mogami trilled as his hopped back onto his feet.

Mitsunari could care less about the money and fame.

On the other hand, a chance to travel the world…

He hadn't mentioned his particular dream of travel to Ieyasu, knowing that the Golden general would plead against such a notion. Mitsunari understood that Ieyasu hated radical changes to his life, but sometimes, change was a necessary measure to take.

"Ooh, that beautiful face~ That physique~ That brooding scowl~ I know you'll make the best Alice in my movie!" warbled Mogami. Had Mitsunari been paying attention to the man, he'd likely to be ripped shreds of flesh on the wall by the end of that sentence.

But as fate would have had it, he did not and was handed a short script soon after some initial paperwork was finished.

Mitsunari was then ejected back onto the pavement.

Wait…

"I STILL NEED TO FIND THAT DAMN POLICE HEADQUARTERS!"

* * *

Preparations had been made. Shingen would put up half days for the shop while Sasuke and Yukimura were out of the city.

Yukimura still wasn't sure about the sudden change in his brother and the atmosphere became awkward every time the two were in the same room for the following week. Even Ieyasu and Tsuruhime – the almost ridiculously amicable of the regulars in the Kai Café – struggled to find words while the two Takeda wards were together.

Furthermore, Yukimura's dreams grew slowly worse.

The white background of the street had melded to an awful pitch black and now every time Yukimura found himself in the store, he felt the perpetual threat of a monster hidden between the darkened, empty shelves and at times he thought he could see the reflection of cruel silver cats' eyes on the window. He would then either see the window shudder under hundreds of white-painted hands striking the glass with the same crimson words or feel razor fangs pierce his body as the figure outside offered his hand.

Regardless of the ending, he always awoke with sweat coating his body and a fear of returning to sleep.

It was almost a relief when their flight date came around. Yukimura and Sasuke said their goodbyes and boarded the plane.

"Yukimura, I'm going to have to go search the city for a little while before I can let you meet that person," Sasuke murmured to his brother as the plane taxed onto the runway. "So I need you to stay in the hotel room I've booked and never leave it; Shuu-o Town is really dangerous."

Yukimura scowled at the window. _Actually_ scowled. Was he really that useless to his brother?

"How long is it going to take to get to Shuu-o Town?" Yukimura asked as the flat landscape of an airport rolled away.

"It'll be five hours. You had better rest up because it's a lot busier in that town."

Sasuke dozed in his seat as the plane made its way through the air. Yukimura's ears still hadn't popped even after an hour and he sat uncomfortably pressed against the seat and the window, enduring the torture. He hadn't brought much with him – just a few sets of clothes, another pair of shoes and, at the last minute, his cassette tape.

He pulled the tape out of his bag and stared at it thoughtfully. Perhaps in Shuu-o Town would he be able to find a clue, even find the person, who had left him this tape.

Perhaps then he could finally close the book on his past life.

* * *

Sasuke was right when he said that the town – despite being much smaller than Sakigahara City – was several times busier than his home city.

They had taken a bus from the airport and ridden the half-an-hour ride to into the dingy city. As they crested a hill, Yukimura gasped as he saw the cluttered mound of a city that Shuu-o Town was.

The squat, browned buildings encroached upon the next, giving the city a slightly lopsided look that met at a point in the middle where a huge, white spire of a tower rose above the rest like a shining finger pointing at the murky sky. As the twilight fell over the cityscape, Yukimura admired the orangey haze that blanketed the low buildings, lit from below by the hundreds of lights and life that coursed through the veins of the town.

Sasuke leaned over to Yukimura and whispered in his ear. "We'll be close to the hotel in ten minutes."

When they stepped out onto the street – after much jostling about in the tour bus – Yukimura almost gagged at the stench that permeated the pearlescent air that settled over the city. The foul smell of waste left in the dull sun, various bodily excreta and the haze of gasoline fumes assaulted Yukimura's senses. After a half an hour of walking with their baggage, Yukimura had become acclimatised to the foul atmosphere but was still pleased to see the demure hotel nestled between a run-down casino and a sparkling brothel.

The hotel room that Sasuke had booked was small but as comfortable as a regular hotel room could be. It had a good view of the whole street and a lovely view of the stained building that towered on the other side of the road.

The room was a clean double with a cheap television in a cabinet, complementary sweets and drinks atop and a tiny kitchenette. The bathroom was an opaque glass fishbowl in the corner of the room fitted with a tiny shower, and a single toilet and sink combo.

As soon as Sasuke entered the threshold, he handed his backpack to Yukimura and in the ten minutes that it took Yukimura to check out the whole place, Sasuke had dismantled four hidden cameras and a sound recorder hidden in various parts of the room.

Yukimura stared in astonishment at the small pile of wires and lenses tossed casually on the counter next to the complementary teas.

"Sasuke, when could you do all that?" Yukimura asked with growing curiosity. In the while after his amnesia, Yukimura had learned most of his background from his foster brother though, in hindsight, he didn't know much about Sasuke himself.

Sasuke paused in pulling on a dark sweater and cast an almost sad look at Yukimura.

"You found out a lot about myself not so long ago," Sasuke resumed dressing and once his black hoodie was on properly, he fixed Yukimura with a stare that betrayed long-buried darkness and suffering. "I think it would be best if I do not repeat that story again."

* * *

Ieyasu was on break and since Shingen had gotten a hold of Motochika as extra help for the Kai Café, each one of them had enough time for a rest sometime in the day. Mitsunari had left a while ago to talk to Saica about some police business concerning Yoshitsugu and Hanbei.

As much as Ieyasu respected the man swaddled in bandages (he could never beat him in a game of chess), he knew that it was him who had set up most of the events that led up to the second gang war of Sakigahara City. The former Golden General didn't know what had driven Yoshitsugu to manipulate almost everyone involved with him into conflict. Sometimes he wished that he had the same wanderlust as Keiji – a way of living that let him let go.

That wasn't to say that he _wanted_ to move. He liked it perfectly fine in Sakigahara City with all of its sad memories and ghosts of happiness that he had experienced at the same time. Change was good to an extent and Ieyasu had decided that things had changed enough; he was content.

His hands still twinged. There were only four scars on his hands that Ieyasu knew would never fade. The two in the webs of his thumbs, the silvery star in the centre of his right hand and small knot the size of a ladybug between his ring and last finger on the left hand where Motochika had twisted viciously.

While, yes, it was Motochika's fault, Ieyasu didn't blame his white-haired, eye-patched friend. If he were in a similar position, Ieyasu would probably have done something like Motochika, personality and morality allowing.

He chewed thoughtfully on his chicken sandwich, enjoying the new, spring, cloud-dappled sunlight as his brown eyes wandered and rested on a familiar figure in the crowd near the running fountain. Standing up abruptly, Ieyasu crammed the rest of his meal into his mouth and made his way over to a mildly annoyed Mitsunari who paced back and forth in front of the water-spouting sculpture.

"Mitsunari!" Ieyasu waved over the crowd and the white-haired man looked up in surprise at the sound of his name before seeing him. His customary scowl then settled onto his features and the brunet instantly knew that Mitsunari was very unimpressed with Ieyasu.

"I can't read your handwriting!" snapped the white-haired man as soon as Ieyasu drew near. In reality, Ieyasu knew that Mitsunari loathed reading his shorthand notes as he could never decipher them properly. Honestly, they knew each other long enough that it would have been theoretically possible for Mitsunari to understand Ieyasu's mind but evidently, if the larger man's handwriting was a problem, he couldn't hope to know his friend's psyche at all.

"Haha, sorry. I knew something like this would happen!" chuckled Ieyasu, anticipating Mitsunari's next biting remark. "I'll take you there next time, then."

"Don't take this sort of thing lightly!" Ieyasu flinched at the anger in his voice. It sounded too much like that twisted figment of Mitsunari that that drug had turned his partner into.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Ieyasu appeased in a gentle voice and Mitsunari's expression softened.

The sun slipped out from behind the fluffy clouds above and illuminated the square where, not too long ago, the two had been prepared to send the other to a hospital.

Or morgue, depending on the viewpoint.

The light illuminated the white hair of Mitsunari, turning the strands into a veritable halo. Mitsunari's eyes turned a bright, lime green in the light, as opposed to the usual bluish emerald that never failed to capture Ieyasu's gaze.

Ieyasu caught himself staring at Mitsunari who raised a snowy eyebrow and he turned away sheepishly. A bright flash glared into Ieyasu's bronze eyes and he automatically blinked and looked away. Glancing back, Ieyasu narrowed his eyes against the flash of light in the water.

"Hold on…" Ieyasu murmured and bent down to strip off his shoes and socks. His eye caught the thin stack of paper in Mitsunari's hand and filed the question away for later.

"What are you doing, Ieyasu?" Mitsunari asked, voice betraying his concern over the curiosity as Ieyasu rolled up the legs of his pants.

Ieyasu splashed into the fountain, drawing many stares. The water was startlingly cold and he felt the circular irregularities of coins beneath the soles of his feet. Wading through the calf-deep water, he made his way over to the bar of silver flashing in the sun that had caught his attention in the first place.

Ieyasu plunged an arm into the chilly water and pulled out a blade, rivulets of water running off the black, rippled steel and dripping from the ribbon-wrapped, black grip and scaly guard. Mitsunari instantly recognised the elegant form that appeared from beneath the water and forgot all his issues concerning Ieyasu's poor penmanship.

"That's…!"

"Tokugawa! What are you doing?" Mitsunari looked to his left in alarm to see a slim woman in a police uniform scowl at his friend in the fountain.

"Hah? I'm returning a belonging I dropped in here," Ieyasu said with his best innocent face. "By accident." He added as an afterthought.

Saica raised a brow then shook her head. "Get out of the fountain before I fine you for public disturbance."

"Public disturbance?" Saica surreptitiously pointed at a bunch of school children staring at Ieyasu, chattering among themselves, then one turned to an adult and piped, "Miss! Miss! There's someone in the fountain!"

"Yes sweetie, but do you see that nice lady there in the police uniform? She's going to get that man out because he's not allowed to jump in the fountain."

Saica raised a brow.

"Fine, fine."

* * *

Yukimura was bored. Beyond bored.

There was nothing to do and the stuff on television was the usual middle-of-the-day rubbish. He had already unpacked both his belongings and his brother's.

The silence was oppressive and Yukimura felt as if he had insects crawling under his skin. He leapt up and paced the room. Sasuke was gone and his phone was charging. There was nothing interesting on it anyway.

Feeling antsy, he checked the bathroom. It was still slightly warm from the shower Sasuke had taken before he left. A single toilet, white sink stacked with cheap complementary items, and a shower that dripped. Yukimura frowned.

He opened the door with a squeak and shut both taps as hard as he could.

_Drip… Drip… Drip…_

He shrugged.

He shut the door and returned to the main room and flopped on his bed. The ceiling paint had cracked a little in the corner and Yukimura focussed his attention on it. Speckled black, Yukimura stared and stared, waiting.

He shut his eyes.

The black rider was standing just outside of the glass display window. He placed his hand on the glass.

"Who are you?" Yukimura cried at the window, afraid that the monster behind him would eat him. There was a dripping noise that brought chills up Yukimura's spine.

This dream was different somehow.

The dragon rider reached up and began writing in horrid red ink on the glass that oozed and dribbled.

_This is just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream!_

The black hand stopped and was offered to Yukimura.

'You're running out of time.' The window said.

Yukimura took a step backwards and the hand lowered, as if the rider was hurt by the action. _Splish. _

Yukimura looked down. Dark water pooled around his ankles. He finally turned to see that he was no longer in the sport shop. He was in an hourglass.

Dark water ran in rivulets from the tapered ceiling and filled the chamber he was in. There was a rumble and the sky fell like huge clumps of coal, revealing white eyes and grinning teeth. The rocks crashed into the ground, close – too close – to the black rider.

"Look out!" Yukimura yelled but no sound escaped. A spurt of water cascaded down from the darkened ceiling, drenching Yukimura and raising the water to his waist.

The rider took one step forward.

The glass of Yukimura's chamber bent under the helmeted man's touch, peeling away as he reached for Yukimura.

'Just trust me and we'll be home before you know it.'

Yukimura blinked in shock. That was new.

He looked at the harmless offered hand. Should he?

He felt the inexplicable dream-light darken and he looked back up into the huge maw of a dragon head sitting in place of the rider's.

The jaws snapped shut around his neck.

Yukimura jolted upright on his hotel bed with a shout. His hands moved to his neck, checking for the mauled flesh and puncture wounds from jagged, white teeth. He curled into a ball, trying to calm his heart.

That voice…

_"Just trust me and we'll be home before you know it."_

Why was that familiar?

.

.

.

_Drip._

* * *

**Idk. I really think of Mitsunari as an Alice in Wonderland kind of person… And Ieyasu as the White Rabbit (lol)**

**Sorry for it being a little shorter than usual. Just trying to get ideas down. As a word of warning, be prepared for another plot twist (if you haven't already guessed).**

**Guesses will get a little preview of the next chapter, so review please!**


	25. I F N O T

Love, The Cassette Tape

**1**

**We're nearly at the end now. **

**Hojicha: thanks for the review, and here's the chapter~ xD**

**This special double update is a marker for Uyre's birthday on the 15****th**** because I stupidly forgot to update due to uni! Happy birthday anyway! The next and final update will be on the 18****th****, okay. **

**Review, please!**

**Full Title: Inherently Flawed Notion Of Torture (IFNOT)**

* * *

Masamune stared deeply into the floor-to-ceiling mirror in his office. It was opposite his desk so it allowed him a constant view of the city behind him. He knew there were hidden people watching his every move so he sat with his back to the glass to watch the mirror with sharp eyes.

He reached out to touch the smooth surface of the reflective glass. As usual, he was searching for what was behind the mirror and not what was in it. He pulled the edge and the hidden cupboard slipped open silently. Inside were bottles and bottles of sleeping pills and on the back were 51 dashes tallied up on the glass in marker. The message was clear – one clue and 60 days to follow it. He had given him 60 days. He gave _both_ of them 60 days. If there was nothing until then, there would never be.

Perhaps it would be better that way.

The door clicked open and Masamune hurriedly shut the portal, fixing a mildly annoyed expression onto his face.

"You have an appointment in ten minutes."

Taking note of where Masamune was standing, Kojuro's expression darkened.

"Do you think I haven't noticed them?" Kojuro stated coldly to his charge. Masamune scowled and turned.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You think that being the boss of a medicine company means that your own products can go missing on their own and I wouldn't notice?" Kojuro crossed his arms, clenching his jaw in a stubborn fashion.

Masamune knew a stubborn Kojuro – hell to deal with.

Masamune looked away. "So? It's my business. You don't need to worry about it."

"I do need to worry about it, that's the thing."

Masamune's eye flashed and he turned the full force of his glare at the only real father figure he had had in his life.

"I'm not a child. I'm no longer your problem. I thought I made that clear."

It was Kojuro who looked away as he strode toward the hidden cupboard. Masamune didn't move from his spot.

"Kojuro. Don't."

His caretaker didn't falter and reached for the hidden clasp.

"Damn it, **look at me** when I'm talking to you!" Masamune roared. Then Kojuro hesitated, his hand hanging in air.

"No."

"What?"

Masamune glowered and he strode forward a few paces.

"Are you disobeying my orders now, Kojuro?"

"Do NOT…" Kojuro whirled around and grasped Masamune's lapel. Despite being both fully grown, Masamune still could be hefted, even if it was only to his toes, by Kojuro. "Do NOT presume that I work _for_ you."

Masamune's eye narrowed.

"I work for the Date company and the Date family. While you are currently head of both, neither of these specifically mention you."

"You worked for my father. You did his bidding like his personal lapdog."

Kojuro's mouth twisted into a skewed grin, enhanced more by his scar that twitched into a stiff curve.

"And why, sir, can I not see the difference anymore?"

Kojuro dropped Masamune and briskly walked out of the office.

As Masamune looked after his caretaker, both astonished by his directness and his statement that ran circles in his head.

His hated father. He couldn't stand the man. The money-obsessed miser who left his children solely under the care of a mentally unstable woman. How could one even call him a father?

Masamune properly stared at his reflection, long and hard, for the first time in months.

He didn't like what he saw there.

In a flash, Masamune dragged his heavy chair and hurled it at the reflective glass. The glass spider-webbed but didn't shatter which was highly ungratifying for him so he hefted the metal chair again with both hands and swung again and again. Muscles burning, he dropped the chair, staring at the cracked pane of mirror, still seeing the multitude of silver eyes and harsh mouths that stared and snarled right back.

_Too many, too many!_

Masamune reached back to the small of his back and levelled his hand gun at the mirror.

"Go away!" He roared and squeezed the trigger once, twice.

Again and again.

The bangs were deafening to Masamune's sensitive ears but he did not relent and fired round after round into the cold face of his father in the mirror on the wall until it finally shattered into safe cubes that littered the floor in varying sizes.

Panting, Masamune dimly registered the gun slipping from his finger before he covered his face with his hands.

What was he thinking?

* * *

Ieyasu woke on the right side of the wrong bed.

He still felt great even though Mitsunari's left elbow jabbed him in the night and his feet were constantly cold as ice. After a couple of nights complaining that he couldn't get to sleep or he had nightmares sleeping by himself (or other ridiculous excuses that were impossible for Mitsunari to not interpret as a plea to sleep in his bed), the two of them had taken to huddling under the Misfortune King's blankets.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

Ieyasu laughed quietly, thinking of a month ago. If he went back in time and told himself that one morning he would wake up and find himself holding Mitsunari by his side… well, several things would happen.

He would be called crazy then punched and arrested.

His chuckle had woken Mitsunari up. The white-haired leader of the Silver Blades grumbled and lifted his head, still unused to waking at Ieyasu's ungodly time of six in the morning.

"What're you laughing about?" Mitsunari slurred, shuffling into a better, slightly less cramped position in bed.

"Just what I was doing at this time a couple of weeks ago." Ieyasu answered simply and wrapped his arms around Mitsunari. His muscles twinged at the action, reminding Ieyasu that he had another training session with Shimazu (he ended up being roped in after a losing bet with Masamune over the phone a while ago, but the old man insisted he had high potential as a boxer) this afternoon.

He still wasn't sure if he wanted to pursue boxing as a career – sure it was fun and burnt a lot of the energy that was perpetually circuiting within him, but boxing came with a lot of travel. And while Ieyasu could just get used to the movement, he didn't want to leave Mitsunari.

The smaller of the two was still recovering from his comatose state after the other consciousness disappeared. Sometimes he would randomly space out until Ieyasu called him back after a few moments. It was worst in the morning but it was getting less frequent. That, Ieyasu was glad about.

"What _were_ you doing at this time a couple of weeks ago?" Mitsunari asked offhandedly.

Ieyasu smiled down at Mitsunari and held him tighter. "Who cares? It's in the past."

"Hm…"

The sun rose steadily and soon the warm rays were searing into Ieyasu's bare shoulder.

"Hey, I think we should get up."

"Wait-"

Mitsunari's cool fingers grasped his wrist, preventing him from leaving the bed. Ieyasu leaned back, listening.

"I was offered an acting job by one of those talent scouts that have been hanging around."

Ieyasu was silent, weighing up how to react as well as his influence in Mitsunari's decision. He wasn't fond of the outcome of if he flat out said "no" or "yes". The time where Mitsunari would be away would be excruciating – he had found the one whom he loved and now he was asking to leave.

"I think," he started carefully. "If you really want to go ahead with it, I won't stop you.

"But… I'd prefer if you didn't."

He felt Mitsunari's lips curve up in amusement.

"I thought you'd say something like that," He chuckled then changed the subject. "Do you want to go out to eat?"

Ieyasu shrugged. "Sure."

"Alright. Now get out of my bed."

* * *

Insomnia crept up on Yukimura.

Over the next two weeks, he slept no more than five hours, sitting terrified up in bed as Sasuke slept deeply after each day of reconnaissance.

Then, one day, Sasuke came home earlier.

Yukimura had been running the dream-words over and over in his head, wearing a rut into the fabric of his consciousness.

"I've got us a meeting with the person I want you to see. We're leaving now."

Sasuke moved impossibly fast to Yukimura, moving around the room, packing everything back into various bags. Then, like the whirlwind he was, Yukimura suddenly found himself crammed onto a tram which dumped the two of them in front of the sparkling white building he had seen on entry.

"_This_ is where that guy lives?" Yukimura asked incredulously.

Sasuke gave a single nod then walked through the sliding glass doors.

Yukimura stared around in awe as his brother talked to the receptionist. There were floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite side of the door. The floor had a very modern office feel – white-washed walls and dark blue carpeting. A waiting area filled a corner along with two vending machines beside a waxy pot plant.

Sasuke whisked Yukimura to the elevator and pressed for the second highest floor.

"Who am I meeting again? What's his name?"

Sasuke blinked. "You mean no one told you yet?"

Yukimura frowned.

"No one tells me anything." He pointed out.

The elevator doors pinged and they stepped out into another waiting area very similar to the one on the ground floor. This floor had two walls of glass, the third holding a set of large, dark doors and the fourth being the elevator wall.

An annoyed-looking, scarred man stood from his seat behind a desk.

"He'll be ready to see you soon." He addressed Yukimura. Then he directed at Sasuke;

"Do you think it will work?"

Sasuke shrugged. Yukimura tried asking what he was supposed to do before there was a buzzing noise and the doors unlocked.

"Go on." Sasuke urged.

Feeling apprehensive, Yukimura twisted the handle and opened the door.

* * *

"I'm leaving to see the world. I'm taking that acting job." Ieyasu halted in shock.

"But what about the Silver Blades?" He asked, worry bleeding into his voice. _What about me?_

"I've already told them about my decision. We're basically dissolved now." Mitsunari stopped and leant on the railing of a bridge. It took Ieyasu a moment to realize that it was the exact same bridge that Sasuke had thrown himself off not too long ago.

"So, the acting company definitely wants you to go?" Ieyasu copied his white-haired partner and leant on the railing as well, elbows propped on the thick steel and face turned up to the winter sun. The bitterest part of winter was over and the reappearance of the sun was proof of it.

"Yeah, I also want to see the world. The job will help take me places," Mitsunari chuckled lightly. "It'll also help me clear my head and get away from here."

Ieyasu's heart thudded hard against his ribs, each palpitation felt laboured and thick. Mitsunari was leaving? Would he be okay? What about him? Sasuke, Tsuruhime, Motochika, Masamune, and Yukimura too, what would they think?

"I'll come back so don't look so stressed." Mitsunari's face was lit with a gentle smile.

_I'm not stressing about you not coming back._ Ieyasu thought and his hand lifted to brush his friend's delicate cheekbone with a thumb. Mitsunari scowled slightly at the touch and Ieyasu's hand shied away when he noticed.

"S-sorry," Ieyasu pasted a sheepish grin onto his face then turned back to the dark river, his expression unknowingly dropping as soon as his thoughts turned to a more melancholy subject. "I can't convince you otherwise, I guess."

"I knew you were going I say something like that." Mitsunari flicked a twig into the canal and watched it disappear into the sluggish, half solid water.

Ieyasu let out a weak chuckle then rested his chin on crossed arms.

"I'll meet you back at the apartment, okay?" Mitsunari turned away toward the direction of their home. Ieyasu hummed his reluctant approval and his hand came up to slide his signature yellow hood over his head.

Mitsunari's footsteps receded and Ieyasu allowed himself the luxury of emotion. He knew that it was Mitsunari's own decision and they weren't high schoolers anymore but he still selfishly wanted to keep Mitsunari near him and hold onto the warm feeling of waking up in the morning with the familiar weight and smell of his friend next to him.

Ieyasu didn't want to wake to an empty mattress anymore.

Ieyasu choked back a sob, tilting his head down to hide the tears that refused to stop. He scrubbed mercilessly at his face, trying to control his breathing and calm himself. Shutting his eyes, he forced his shoulders to relax. The tension eased slightly but his muscles jumped when warm, gentle lips brushed his own.

"You know you pout when you try to concentrate," Mitsunari drew away from a surprised Ieyasu and smirked at his friend's flustered expression as he wiped hurriedly at his face. "Your expression is really cute when you pout."

Ieyasu scowled at his white-haired friend and turned back to glower angrily at the river.

"And there you go again with that face," Mitsunari chuckled at Ieyasu's steadily reddening visage.

"I'm just teasing anyway. But I really am considering that offer."

Ieyasu sighed.

"About that boxing offer too…"

"How'd you find out about that?"

Mitsunari smirked.

"Masamune was – is – a rather proud person so it's easy to get him talking about things he's won,"

Ieyasu chuckled, then stretched.

"So… will you take that opportunity?"

Ieyasu breathed out, watching his breath disappearing into the sky.

"I'll take that acting job even if you refuse to take yours." Mitsunari said flatly.

"Yes, yes, okay, fine! I'll talk to Shimazu about that." Ieyasu scowled at his friend who just smirked at the other.

"…I guess we should keep in contact afterwards then." Mitsunari mused, staring down the canal again.

"That, my dear, is what phones are for." Ieyasu uttered drily.

"Don't call me 'dear'. God knows I'll be hearing more of that for the next few years!" Mitsunari moaned as Ieyasu laughed and lightly shoved his friend's shoulder.

* * *

He stood there, stock-still and lock-jawed. He was either going to kill that monkey and Kojuro, the two meddlesome men, or hug them both with tears streaming down his face because the red jewel of his life was standing before him confused, unsure and as brokenly beautiful as the last time he saw him.

Yukimura Sanada, the Crimson Tiger of the Ruby Claws was still as devastatingly gorgeous as the last time he had seen him... But wrong.

He stood in a slightly different way, an unfamiliar air about his self and purported a different, dull, dead look in his bronze eyes. It was a new torture in itself – more painful than the company's weight and his own sleepless sorrow.

Where had that fire-soul he had fallen in love with gone?

* * *

"**What. Is. This**."

Kojuro hesitated. He had expected a tentative reach or a gentle and loving expression - not this cold disapproval. The scarred secretary shot a glance at the ex-assassin who looked just as stricken as he felt.

"Why did you being him here?"

For the first time in his service for the Date family, he faced the pure fury of the Azure Dragon. Kojuro had never imagined that his charge would direct his anger at the people he trusted, let alone to the beloved that had changed him, even if he wasn't quite the same. Sasuke looked ready to leap in front of the ignorant Yukimura if danger arose.

"You two, get out."

"What?" Yukimura widened his eyes at the terse order directed at him.

"I said for you and your brother to get out." Yukimura's brows knitted as Sasuke tactfully pulled him back to the ostentatious doors. The same, cold, disappointed look that a part of him knew but refused to acknowledge stabbed deep into Yukimura, unlocking that one drawer at the back of his mind where he knew he kept the painful things he'd rather destroy.

This man was the motorcyclist.

This man was his nightmare.

The two brothers absconded.

Masamune turned back to his secretary and caretaker for the majority of his life.

"Why," he hissed. "Why did you bring him back?"

Kojuro bent his head, knowing something terrible would happen if he spoke the wrong words. But perhaps those wrong words would be the ones which would snap his narrow minded charge out of his depression.

"You need to fix things with Yukimura. Even if neither of you are willing, you both need to set things straight. If not," Kojuro swallowed. "If not, I am resigning."

Masamune's eye widened a fraction in disbelief. "You're going to abandon me?"

Kojuro nodded stiffly. "If this is what it takes to set you back on the right path, yes. I will leave you."

The Azure Dragon lunged forward, grasping a handful of Kojuro's neatly pressed shirt in a trembling hand and pulled up viciously even though Masamune was a few inches shorter.

"Why are you doing this?" He demanded. Kojuro fixated his grave eyes on the man he had helped toddle the length of a corridor as a child and mentally steeled himself.

"Don't think that I am stupid, Masamune." Kojuro roughly disengaged his rumpled shirt from Masamune's tight fist and strode over to the wall sized mirror that reflected the office and view outside for the secret latch that opened a cupboard. He knew he was bringing up the subject from last week.

And the mirror had only _just_ been fixed…

He pulled out an orange cylinder, nearly empty. Only a few capsules rattled at the bottom.

"I know you've been taking these ever since we moved to Shuu-o Town," Kojuro caught the momentary flash of childish fear of being caught red handed before it was engulfed with anger. "You can't sleep, can you."

It was less a question and more a statement of fact.

"What does it matter to you? You're just a body guard my father assigned to me to stop me from causing trouble! I don't know why you're still here. Pity?" Masamune snapped.

"No," Kojuro said in little more than a whisper. "I am not here because of an oath to your father or out of pity for your existence,"

"I am here because I want to care for the person who I see as the son I'll never have. I have watched and guided you until now because I see you might have gone down a path where I can't reach."

An inexplicable expression crossed Masamune's face and the head of Date Pharmaceuticals stiffly turned around to stare at the static scenery beyond the window.

"…Masamune, sir?"

Masamune swallowed several times before speaking.

.

.

.

.

"**Goodbye, Kojuro**."

* * *

"What's going on?"

Yukimura tugged on the back of Sasuke's dark shirt as they stood in the waiting room outside Masamune's office. Sasuke dropped into a plush chair with a heavy sigh and ignored his brother's question.

"Sasuke…"

Yukimura's voice gained a whiny tone.

"Yuki, stop," Sasuke lifted a hand to massage the bridge of his nose. "I'm trying to get you to remember. Or at least make peace between the you from before and _that_ guy.

Yukimura's brows snapped down.

"That's it. I didn't ask for any of this – traveling to Shuu-o and meeting whoever that was. Things would have been so much simpler of you had just _told_ me what the hell is going on!

Tears pricked the back of Yukimura's eyeballs. Not willing to let them fall just yet, he let his pent up rage sweep him away.

"Sasuke, I've tried to know my past but every time I asked you before you would ignore me or just change the subject. You have no idea how frustrating that is! Then you drag me over to this shithole of a town then coop me up in a hotel room for two weeks. When we get here the person you want me to meet throws us out like garbage. How am I supposed to remember anything about my past life like this?"

The dam broke and tears spilled over, dripping shamelessly off Yukimura's chin to soak into the blue carpet of the waiting room. Sasuke pulled a desperately conflicted face and dragged his brother into a hug.

"I'm so sorry but I don't know how to deal with this." Sasuke murmured.

Yukimura stayed silent and let hot tears seep into Sasuke's shirt.

"You forgot me once. On purpose but I guess that was warranted."

Yukimura started.

"What?"

Yukimura felt his brother tighten his hold on him. His ear pressed into his chest, the younger felt the terrified hammering of Sasuke's heart.

Why had he been so selfish? It wasn't just Yukimura who was suffering from his missing memories. Sasuke had probably been holding back on the stories because, as things were in real life, there were actions that he weren't proud of.

Sasuke let out a quavering breath as Yukimura listened patiently for the wavering tenor to weave out a story through the empty cavities in his brother's chest.

"So, there's another side of me that we call Tenko Kamen…"


	26. Unravel

Love, The Cassette Tape

**0**

**Final author's note and last chapter to LtCT, guys. Thanks for being here this long journey, and thank you all my supportive reviewers (guests and otherwise), faves and follows. You're all so deeply appreciated I have no clue how I would have managed to finish this story without all of your support. And for those negative reviewers, I feel like laughing in your face, but I'm fairly sure I'm above that.**

**On another note, this won't be the dead end of the story. I will write some extras to fill out the end of the story a bit more, so make sure to follow me as an author too! Review if you think I should put it on the end of this story, post as separate stories each, or make a compilation separately. However, they won't be around for a while. I have to get uni life back on track and everything…**

**As for my comments on this story in particular, I don't think I'll write one with so many main characters again. Not meaning that I'll never write for this fandom again, since I have another fic in the works (hint, hint, follow me, please!), but not with so much going on for so many characters. Hopefully someone reads this since I know people skip past these long notes (DON'T DENY IT) and joins me again for my next Basara work.**

**Review, please, my sunshines! Special shout-out for the people who get the reference in this title~!**

**Full title: Unravel**

* * *

Kojuro gently let himself out of Masamune's office.

"...We didn't see each other for a while but Kojuro told me afterwards that you two got really close. Then we met again in the middle of a gang war. You were in trouble and I was Tenko Kamen. So… I saved you and then you gave me this shaky looking grin and I knew you remembered me again."

Kojuro smiled gently at the two brothers curled together on the navy chairs that littered the room. Sasuke's eyes were closed, recounting a story while Yukimura was buried in his brother's chest. He cleared his throat, getting the Takeda wards' attention.

"I've resigned."

Yukimura's eyes widened in worry while Sasuke's head flopped back and he let out a bark of harsh laughter.

"So it's down to this, huh." He muttered and Kojuro nodded grimly.

Sasuke gave his brother a sad look.

"Yukimura, this was your past. That man in there… He was your lover."

Yukimura's eyes misted over and his head slumped onto his brother's chest.

"I knew it."

The two older men perked up at this statement. "Do you remember?"

Yukimura shook his head. "No, not consciously, at least. When I saw him, I felt this burning in my heart… But somehow I could sense that his flame was nearly dead."

"You know he was waiting for you," Kojuro's gunmetal-grey eyes softened when Yukimura looked up in surprise.

"He gave you sixty days to return to him."

"D-did I make it? Is that why he's so angry at me?" Yukimura fretted and Kojuro cracked a smile.

"You are actually on your second last day."

Yukimura gave an audible sigh of relief. A comfortable silence filled the waiting room as Kojuro took a seat opposite to the Takeda brothers.

"Do… do you want to go and talk to him?" Kojuro waved his hand in the direction of the doors.

Yukimura hesitated. His past was there and from first impressions, it seemed to be very important to Masamune.

Since it seemed so important that Kojuro left his job for it…

"I'll try." Yukimura said with a smile.

Turning to his bag, he rooted around for the cassette tape. Holding it in his hand, Yukimura stared down at the writing. _It was written with care and love, _Yukimura realised with a jolt. He smiled affectionately at it, then pocketed it, giving Kojuro a nod.

The eldest man knocked on the door, before opening it for Yukimura.

"Good luck." He whispered before Yukimura stepped in and the door was shut.

"…Did they put you up to this?" The man behind the desk drawled without looking up from his paperwork.

Yukimura shook his head, temporarily forgetting that Masamune Date wasn't looking at him.

"No. Actually, I came here to ask you some questions."

The scratching of a pen stopped and Masamune fixed his one-eyed gaze on the brunet.

"Ask away."

Yukimura steeled himself. It was now or never.

"Did you record this?" Yukimura asked as he placed the cassette tape on the table. Masamune plucked it off the table top and looked at the nostalgic writing. Of course he had.

"Yeah." Masamune slid the tape into his left blazer pocket, behind his phone.

"Will you tell me why?"

Masamune paused, staring at the mirror's reflection.

_It's because I love you_.

"Figure that out yourself."

Yukimura gained a sad look as an awkward silence filled the room. He fidgeted, unsure of what he needed to say next.

"I think… I see you in my dreams." Yukimura blurted.

Masamune turned in half confusion, half hope.

"You don't know who I am." He pointed out.

"I know… but I cannot help but feel that you are connected to one of my dream characters. I have been hearing them talk but back then it was like listening to a voice through static,"

The more Yukimura thought about it, the more he was sure.

"I am sure if I dreamt that nightmare again, it would be your voice. It is just so familiar… that I am surprised I ever forgot it in the first place."

Masamune blinked incredulously then laughed. Laughed, and laughed, and laughed. More than he had for the past two months.

Yukimura, startled, stared with apprehension at the laughing man.

"Ah… only you would say something ridiculously strange like that and still make me laugh." Masamune sighed, then dropped his pen.

He stood and stretched, popping his back in an arpeggio of clicking cartilage loud enough for Yukimura to hear.

"Urgh, I'm too young for desk work," he grumbled then walked to the other side of his table and leant on it, patting the spot left of him. "How about we start off from where we left?"

Yukimura joined Masamune on the edge of the table and stared into his reflection mirrored on the other side of the wall.

"Well… What do you want to know about?" Yukimura asked.

"Hm… How about we start with 'how is everyone'?"

Yukimura was silent, wracking his brains for any tid bit of information that would interest Masamune.

"Um… Sasuke applied for Honojin University."

Masamune whistled.

"Ha, that place is hard to get into… but that monkey'll get in, easy."

"Yes… we should be getting the results of his exam when we return to Sakigahara."

Masamune hummed. "Motochika?"

"Fine. He's working with us now. He says that Mori sacked him and gave up the bar then up and disappeared."

Masamune snorted then changed the subject.

"How's Ieyasu doing with Shimazu?"

Yukimura blinked in confusion.

"…What would he be doing with Dr Shimazu?"

Masamune smiled.

"Shimazu actually used to be a world-championship boxer. At least, until he tore a muscle in his right shoulder. He turned to medicine to find a way to fix his shoulder but somehow ended up as my family's doctor," he shrugged. "You'd have to talk to Kojuro about that,"

"Anyway, I won a bet against Ieyasu and asked Shimazu to train him in boxing, if you were still wondering."

Yukimura nodded slowly, thinking, imagining the young delivery boy as a boxer.

He smiled. "Yeah, I see that too."

"Ieyasu told me Shingen was awake again." Masamune stated softly.

"Yeah, he's a lot of fun so it is not hard to be around him," Yukimura said. "But he's like everyone – they look at me like I'm some pitiable puppy."

"Hm… the perks of amnesia, huh."

"Yeah…"

A chilly silence fell between the two. The former Crimson Tiger floundered for anything to say, just to alleviate the stifling quietness.

"You know, if it weren't for this company and all the people who rely on it, I'd sell it all just to move back into Sakigahara." Masamune murmured.

Yukimura's eyebrows rose in shock. He didn't expect this man to be the responsible type.

Then, he understood the true meaning of Masamune's words.

"But-"

"Yukimura, you have to understand," Masamune stood and faced the younger brunet. "There is nothing left of me if you disappear from my life."

"I understand, just-"

"I could barely _sleep_ after I left you!"

"Wait-"

Masamune lifted a hand, reaching for… His mouth? His cheek? Silence?

"You were the only person who made me realise that… I-"

There was a pop, like someone setting off a fire cracker on New Year's Day, and then the window behind the table spider webbed, but did not shatter.

In the instant between the window being broken, and Masamune being knocked off his feet in astonishment and a hint of realisation, Yukimura Genjiro Sanada; waiter of the Kai Café, Crimson Tiger of the Ruby Claws, and lover of the Azure Dragon Masamune Date returned.

The first things Masamune Date's senses registered upon regaining consciousness were the bitter smell of disinfectant, the odd tautness of a needle and tube inserted into his left forearm, the dull ache over his heart and the warm hand that clutched his right.

"kim'ra…?" He slurred and the bedside sentinel shot upright.

"Masamune! You've been asleep for six days and the doctors say that you were shot, then the person who shot you got away, and – hic – I was so scared that you'd be different and all I'd have left of you would be that _stupid_ broken cassette tape that you recorded over!" Masamune felt a faint impact on his chest then realised that Yukimura was hugging him.

Masamune blinked open his eyes a couple of times as a pair of chestnut eyes framed by brunet hair swam into focus. His tongue drew unfortunate comparisons with a very dry rock and Masamune swallowed in attempt to alleviate this discomfort. Yukimura scrambled to pour a cup of water on the bedside tray and gently helped Masamune drink the liquid.

"Yukimura, calm down and start from the beginning." Masamune rasped after drinking his fill.

"You were shot from a neighbouring building. At the moment, no one knows if you are alive or dead except for me and… well, you. The only reason why you are even breathing, the doctors say, is that your phone and the cassette tape slowed the impact of the bullet enough to only fracture the rib over your heart." Yukimura sat on the edge of Masamune's bed and spoke slowly. The brunet was about to continue when a small detail clicked in Masamune's mind.

"Yukimura… did you say that the cassette tape was _recorded over_?" Yukimura's eyes welled up with tears and smiled.

"I was going to save it for later… but surprise! I remember everything." Yukimura's breath hitched and let the water drip down his cheeks.

"But… I don't understand…" Masamune near whimpered, wiping his eyes on his sheets.

"Deep down I loved you so much that I knew that if you died, I'd die too… So maybe I lived for both of us for a little bit."

Yukimura was dragged half onto the bed for a hug, feeling the body that _lived_ and _breathed _beneath him shudder with breaths that rattled the thin frame of the bed.

"I just-"

"Shh…" Yukimura settled on his side instead and rested on the pillows, smiling so much it hurt his face. "Masamune,"

"I want to make sure that you never feel lonely again."

Yukimura could see the realisation that (as he'd expected, the other had not even realised himself) Masamune had almost perished bitter and lonely and that Yukimura, from some weird twist of fate, allowed him to save the other, hit him like a freight train. He watched as Masamune's façade crumbled away to reveal the jewelled, scarred dragon he really was and he smiled in response to the other's grin.

Masamune stroked the edge of Yukimura's smooth jaw, suddenly conscious of the roughness of his own face, but didn't stop smiling as tears coursed down his face.

Their kiss was gentle, tongues tasting, rememorising and reassuring that the other is alive, warm and only for one another.

He moved beneath his hands, beneath his touch; his lips and tongue moving against the other, terribly slowly. His blood was rushing to his head and the heart monitor was going wild and it was less sucking face and more like saying…

That they love each other.

Yukimura drew away first and smiled down at Masamune. He sidled over and Yukimura settled down into the crook of Masamune's arm.

"Tell me a story?"

"You know all of them."

"Not all of them."

Masamune knew what he was talking about. The cold abyss of sleep.

He sighed.

.

.

.

"Once upon a time, on a cold winter morning, I gave my heart to you."

"That's a stupid place to put it."

"Yukimura, I didn't even know I had a heart to give until it was already yours."

.

.

.

_End_


End file.
